VIENNA, VA, January, 25, 2012—The show at the Black Cat for Liftoff was not just an album release party for their new album Sunday Morning Airplay but the culmination of work a decade in the making and the first official show as the band Liftoff.
Now it is difficult to call this the first show by Liftoff. They’ve not only played in several bands individually but also bands as a whole before, specifically Fort Knox Five and Thunderball. Regardless, this was clearly a special occasion for the band.
For the past decade or so, the quartet of Steven Albert, Johnna Raskin, Steve Raskin, and Rob Myers has been putting together what eventually would become Liftoff’s first album. Their years of work were on display at the Black Cat for the first time in front of an audience. And what showed more than anything was Liftoff’s professionalism. It was clear the four members have been in the music scene for quite some time.
Liftoff plays an approximation of ’60s psychedelic rock brought up to speed for modern times. This makes the band’s presence on stage a bit more interesting. Inherently, this genre of music is laid back and mellow. Despite being technically sound, Liftoff had an air of anxiousness about them.
This nervousness did not show during the performance but it was present in and around the music. Steve Raskin did seem jittery between songs. Trying to set up everything from samples and loops to drum beats and textures for each song those jitters are understandable considering he has the most responsibility in getting the song's nuances right.
Most of this might seems detrimental to their performance, but again, it never hindered anything they played. In truth, it gave the band a certain edge opposing the normal mellow vibe a band playing a similar style would trot out on stage. They seemed preoccupied with making sure everything went off without a hitch which in turn made sure their set was on point.
For a first performance, this was a great thing. Eventually their sets might settle into an easy going groove, but for now it was good to notice the individual aspects of the band without much meandering.
The most noticeable aspect of Liftoff, and the part of the band that makes the biggest impact, is the soundscapes of Raskin. The layer and texturing is the general foundation for the band and everything bounces of this. Being at once trippy and sweeping, it is also enhanced by the rotating images in the background.
The rest of the band’s performance builds up from there. Steven Albert’s vocals have an easy flow, gently blending into the sonic landscape the band is creating. Johnna Raskin backing vocals support Albert’s like an ever increasing and subtle echo.
Rob Myer fills out the rest of the band’s sound with his unassuming guitar work. He is fine tuned enough and makes so little commotion sitting down away from the rest of the band, it is easy to forget he is even present; however his riffs bring out a fuller sound.
The band shows off everything they are about on the song “Shine,” which also doubles as their first single. The song encapsulates the band perfectly and gives off an influence of the Beatles at their psychedelic peak.
It is funny to think Liftoff almost did not happen. The album has taken so long for them to finish it was almost given up on. For everyone at the Black Cat, Lift Off's modern take on psychedelic rock has us thankful that never happened and that Sunday Morning Airply made it to the shelf.
Stephen Bradley is an avid music listener. Read more of his work in Riffs at the Washington Times Communities.
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