By: David de Young
 Tried For Fine (Publicity photo by Nick Deutsch) |
Members: Brittany Benjamin - Vocals |
Those who follow my club going habits (stalkers!) have probably gathered by now that I adopted Tried to Fine as one of my pet bands in 2002. First I wrote a glowing review of their Uptown Bar show in October. Then I attended nearly all of their local shows for the remainder of 2002. And ultimately I listed them as one of my top 10 favorite live acts of the year in my year-end roundup. Why? Because I think Tried for Fine has got what it takes to keep making major headway in the fickle local pop scene where one day you're a media darling and the next you can't score a gig playing a wedding reception on the Jonathan Paddleford. I also think Tried for Fine plays a kind of sincere, dedicated, from-their-gut-to-yours pop/rock music that stands out in its niche. And perhaps most of all, when Tried for Fine makes it, I want to be able to say "I told you so."
This band was already showing signs of a magic touch in the summer of 2002 when three St. Paul police officers stopped at a house party where the band was playing to shut down the gig but ended up staying, listening, and presumably enjoying the rest of the set. Granted that was St. Paul, and such a story would be unbelievable in Minneapolis, but it's just one example of the kind of good karma this band projects. And I dare say that they're even better now than they were then.
Tried for Fine recently changed bass players, replacing Matt Anderson with Andrew Leaf and released a new EP (untitled) recorded at Soliton Studios in Bloomington that arrived in my mailbox in just before Christmas. ("Try Again," "Pittsburgh" and "The Best Thing" are the 3 new songs on the EP and all 3 can be heard on their MP3 site.) Keyboard player Jon Storm continues to write accessible, catchy pop songs that make you feel good so it should be no surprise that their fan base has continued to grow. This past Saturday January 4th at the Fine Line it seemed to me that there were more fans up in the front rows of the busy club singing along to Tried to Fine than for each of the other three bands on the venue that night (Concentual, Grayson and Brothers Foolish.)
If it weren't for the fact that I read my web server logs and have noted more frequent hits coming from Yahoo on the search phrase "Brittany Benjamin" I'd have to say that keyboard player Jon Storm's got as many hardcore fans as the powerfully voiced and increasingly graceful lead singer Benjamin. (To see Benjamin's half scissor kicks on stage you know she's not someone you'd want to mess with in a Tae Bo competition.)
Also, in contrast to the meticulously pre-fab Grayson, who played a set which amused me in not very flattering ways just before Tried for Fine took the stage, it was reassuring to see Tried For Fine's guitarist Matt Vannelli in a semi-wrinkled (and presumably vintage) western-style shirt, and pants well worn and frayed at the bottom as he placed his foot coolly and without pretension on his monitor to solo. Andrew Leaf's bass lines are serious, inspired, and intense. Leaf, who breaks a sweat with his dedication to the music, is a definite value-add to the overall Tried for Fine effect which oozes Zen-like, post-collegiate attitude. As the music sucks you in, the tightness of the rhythm section comprised of Leaf and drummer David Sellner (who incidentally double as the bands webmasters) allows you to forget about them for a while until suddenly they grab your attention again as the whole song goes nuts in a glittery rock and roll ending.
This is power pop with a conscience. "Pittsburgh" one of their new ballads from the fall is getting better at each hearing, and never ceases to move me. Their signature songs such as "Sex in You" and "Dream Away" are growing along with them. The more you hear some of these songs, the more you like them, which is one reason why I like this band more now than I did when I first saw them three months ago.
On the downside, maybe it's time they lose the Foo Fighters cover ("Everlong") that they've been playing for Ever(so)long. And as the band picks up fans, it also seems to be picking up more drunken idiots (I exclude myself from that group) in the process, though I suppose that given their musical accessibility and ties to the college crowd that it's probably inevitable. Some guy in a long black coat in the front row kept screaming "Jon Storm rules" throughout one song. Well, it's true that Storm just might, but please save that behavior for the frat house and spare me of it at the Fine Line. Or put up a website and say really nice things about Jon in a quiet, yet very public way like I do.
All of this is just to say you should put these guys on your "to see" list for 2003. If you think I'm freaking nuts for tooting Tried for Fine's horn so much, feel free to let me know. I can take it. In the meantime, I predict good things are in store for these guys over the next twelve months.
Location Info:
Fine Line Music Café
Artist Info: Tried For Fine
Share this story:
Article comments powered by Disqus