Joseph Ferocious at the Doug Fir in Portland
Portland was set to host Staten Island songsters Cymbals Eat Guitars on Thursday afternoon, but that isn’t exactly what we got. As Seattle-based radio station KEXP broadcasted live from stage right, the sparsely populated Doug Fir Lounge warmly welcomed Joseph Ferocious (aka Joseph D’Agostino), the band’s lead singer, solo. Armed only with an acoustic guitar and shorn of the deep string textures and dancey rhythm his band usually provides, he bravely brought it from the depths of his concrete-coated gullet, crooning, crying, and yelling his way through the first song. It wasn’t fluid; it was edgy, and the cutting edge of his high range yesterday reminded this writer more of Dashboard than the quavering renditions I’ve heard in Cymbals’ recordings. However, all in all, one hummed guitar solo, two broken strings and a hastened exit later, this show was still definitely worth it. Joseph Ferocious sings rock ‘n’ roll music, and good rock ‘n’ roll ain’t always pretty.
