Black Carl and Gospel Claws at The Duce
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| Photos by Michael Sepulveda |
| Black Carl rocked the ring at The Duce. |
Black Carl and Gospel Claws
Who would have thought a boxing ring would make such a great stage? And that an old warehouse turned retro mini-mall and bar would have good acoustics? But both were so Friday night at The Duce in downtown Phoenix, where two well-known local bands, Black Carl and Gospel Claws, "faced off" in a ring with a red, white, and blue apron (packed with two drum sets, two basses, four guitars, a bunch of microphones and amplifiers, and various tambourines and maracas).
We jokingly referred to both bands playing in a boxing ring as a "fight," and interestingly, they alternated 20-minute sets to resemble rounds. If you asked Gospel Claws and Black Carl -- or some of the 200-plus people who were at this free show -- who "won," they'd probably say it was a draw. But Black Carl came out ahead on my score card.
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| Gospel Claws |
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| Black Carl singer Emma Pew |
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| Black Carl |
By the time Black Carl took the stage for their second set (and the last set of the night), the beer-swilling, head-bopping crowd needed a pop of energy. The band gave it to them, gelling together on grooves until midnight, while Pew got the crowd clapping along in double-time and bantered between songs. Near the end of the set, she shared a joke she'd heard indie folk harpist Joanna Newson tell during her show at the Orpheum Theatre last November:
Because he was out standing in his field.
Black Carl was pretty outstanding, too, and Gospel Claws wasn't bad. The only thing that could have made the show better for both bands would have been NOT hearing the restaurant P.A. system at The Duce continually announcing that orders were ready while they played. Nothing breaks a music buzz like hearing a girl's voice shouting "BANJO, YOUR ORDER IS READY AT THE FOOD TRAILER!" three times in a row.
Last Night: Black Carl and Gospel Claws at The Duce
The Crowd: Impressive in size, smaller in scope. There were a couple hundred people there; 80 percent looked like twentysomething hipsters.
Overheard in the Crowd: "Somebody should give that drummer [in Gospel Claws] a 'Best Moustache' Award."
Personal Bias: I've been a fan of Black Carl since their self-released, self-titled 2008 EP, but hadn't seen them play live in almost two years.
Random notebook dump: "Crowd has thinned out...this is a tranquilizer of a song."(Jotted down during Gospel Claws' second set.)
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