Live Shots

Jets to Brazil, the Gloria Record

Emo's, September 12

The marquee with the magical E-M-O couldn't have hurt. The promise of seeing the remnants of San Francisco's Jawbreaker and bygone Austin underground faves Mineral was too much for the kids to bear, especially with mid-September dormitory doldrums having already set in. Time to radiate the homesick, lovesick, delectably tortured vibe that is emo. Problem is Jets to Brazil stopped being emo after their last album. Nobody seemed to mind; as long as songs from Orange Rhyming Dictionary were there, all would be well. Of course after the Gloria Record, it was all extra credit. Weaving a web of fine whine that held the crowd in rapture, Gloria Record vocalist Chris Simpson, along with fellow Mineral holdover Jeremy Gomez on bass, managed to wring every ounce of Thom Yorke-style anguish out of his stretched vocal chords. The local fivepiece's acoustic guitar and keyboards created a swirling tide of achy alienation. Too bad Jets to Brazil's Blake Schwarzenbach had forgotten how glum it all can be. The former Jawbreaker has apparently reached the stage in his personal growth where it no longer pays to feel so betrayed by the world, evidenced on the Jets' latest effort Four Cornered Night. It wasn't noticeable early on, as Schwarzenbach came out jumping to "You're Having the Time of My Life," and kept up a pace that audibly wowed Jetsheads. "Everyone seems very happy," said Schwarzenbach, calling the band's last Austin show (Atomic Cafe, SXSW 99) "a train wreck. This is infinitely better." For a while, it was. Guitarist Bryan Maryansky and bassist Jeremy Chatelain (ex-Handsome) cut through Schwarzenbach's candy-cane rasp and high-octane riffage with subtle effects accenting the singer's sardonic tales of grief and discovery. Then Schwarzenbach sat down at the keyboards, and the Jets headed south fast. For the next four songs, the singer did his best Ben Folds, spewing forth a brand of pop that was pleasant enough, but broke the mood completely. Set closer "I Typed for Miles" drew a hearty cheer, but when the encore fell back into acoustic-aided softness, not even singalong favorite "Sweet Avenue" could put the sweet angst back in the evening. On this night, only one band was emo enough for Emo's.