Truly at the Middle East Upstairs
The rain’s presence can be felt inside what resembles a dim cave of a venue on a chilly Sunday night, but it fails to dampen the passion of several stage huggers. Despite its dungeonlike appearance, the Middle East Upstairs is quite endearing, and I feel a connection to the small crowd. Catatonic Suns opens with a pleasant balance of psychedelic sleaze and power chords. I search for clues on the definition of catatonic as I watch the guitarist make a point to swing about and keep the audience on their toes.
Catatonic Suns [Elle Girard]
But the main act puzzles me. Truly. Yeah, that’s their name too. To understand why the criminally underrated sounds that came out of the Middle East Upstairs had an audience of only a few dozen, we must examine the following: the 90s grunge scene, commercial success, and musical grey areas.
Truly has an admirable cast of characters from the 90s grunge scene that came out of Seattle, with Hiro Yamamoto (bass), Mark Pickerel (drums), Robert Roth (vocals/guitar), and a newer addition Hunter Lea (keys). Yamamoto and Pickerel are founding members of Soundgarden and the Screaming Trees, respectively. Roth has played with and almost joined Nirvana; it’s casual. Not one graying head in the crowd was unaware of this — and it’s relatively difficult to stumble upon the band otherwise. While Truly may not have experienced commercial success despite their accreditation, I’m convinced it’s due to a glitch in the matrix.
Truly [Elle Girard]
The crowd cheers affectionately when Pickerel makes it to the stage and the others follow. Truly’s tour being titled “Then, Today and Tomorrow” feels fitting as I am lulled into their dreamy world of guitar riffs, moving bass, Rhodes piano interludes, and the dark vibrato of Roth’s voice. Time is indistinguishable once they get going, and I feel like I’ve been brought on a journey through space. Each member connects with their angst from a distant time ago with modest maturity and effortlessness. When a twang or yell comes to the vocals, the instruments respond with passion. It’s hard to tether them to a certain genre as they ebb and flow through a variety of sounds and emotions.
After several songs, Yamamoto humbly addresses his recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame through his work with Soundgarden. The crowd had been waiting for this one.
“My life has kind of changed in the past few months — you probably know why if you’re here. I got recognized for something I did when I was a lot younger than I am now,” he says. Hoots and hollers assert Yamamoto’s grin.
The band ends with their 2021 single “Wheels on Fire,” which features a march-like riff and what is reminiscent of the Doors’ signature organ. Their sound makes it clear that it doesn’t matter that the band is celebrating their 30 year anniversary — they are tight and will continue to be on their upcoming album.
[Elle Girard]