Q and Not U / Tekulvi / True North

The openers, True North, are Gainsville natives. I didn’t catch True North’s entire set, but I liked the four songs I was able to see. True North is a rather straight ahead screamo band, with the vocals alternating between the guitar and bass player. While True North may not be entirely original, they were fairly entertaining. They could have been much better, only if the guitar player just stopped talking. Onstage banter accounted for nearly half of their set, as the guitar player pleaded with the audience to register to vote – or to rent movies from the library instead of Blockbuster.

The following band, Tekulvi, are a self described math rock band from Chiacgo. I personally think of synthesized drumbeats and vocader effects when I think of the name math rock, which is completely opposite of Tekulvi’s inspired post-punk. Tekulvi was frantic and jarring, with disjointed guitar riffs and anguished screaming, reminiscent of later day Unwound. Tekulvi’s songs would all invariably explode into waves of sheer white noise, as the guitar player would jump of a stage monitor or dance like some kind of maniacal robot. Next up was the anticipated headliners, Q and Not U.

Q and Not U are the newest embodiement of the much famed DC sound. With the release of their latest album, “Different Damage,” Q and Not U have abandoned the cluttered clash of dueling guitars, like Fugazi, and have fully embraced the funky, more danceable sound of their post punk forefathers, Gang of Four. I’m not too familiar with their newer material, but suffice to say, it was amazing. Q and Not U were simply unrestrained energy, with the bass player switching between guitar, bass, percussion, and woodwind instruments, often during the same song. Q and Not U have incorporate more synths into their newer songs, giving the material a new wave feel. The new sound is a bit more sparse, with a heavier emphasis on the drumming, but isn’t really a departure as much as it is a progression, to the ultimate in danceable punk rock. Now a trio and lacking a permanent bass player, Q and Not U used a sampler in order to play some of their material off of “No Kill No Beep Beep.” The lack of a bass player didn’t seem to be a hindrance, they played with an unparalleled amount of energy and enthusiasm.