Francisco the Man is not afraid to kick out the jams. And on a rainy Saturday night on Dec. 6 at The Bartlett in downtown Spokane, that is exactly what they did.
The four-piece indie rock band is on their first tour down the west coast after releasing their first full length album, “Loose Ends.” Their jangly garage rock with a hint of reverb and shoegaze influences filled the small room at The Bartlett. That is to say: it was loud. Really loud.
The night started off with The Static Overtones, the opening band for the evening. From Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the band is a mix of garage rock and blues.
After the opening set, Francisco the Man came out swinging. Almost without warning, the band was on stage starting the set. No introductions, no sound checks, just straight into the music. The band played songs mostly from their debut album, which were not only danceable pop songs, but also contained enough rock that you kind of wanted to headbang.
The band is also not afraid to shed lyrics for pieces of songs. There would be long instrumental stretches that showed off the talent of the musicians and the amount of rehearsal that goes into any live show. Francisco the Man emphasized an interesting blend of the lead singer, the rhythm guitar player, Scotty Cantino and the lead guitarist, Brock Woolsey.
The final song of the show, titled “In My Dreams,” ended with a long instrumental break. Within that instrumental section, the bassist Nestor Romero played some finger tapping high notes that sounded more like they were coming out of a synthesizer then a bass guitar.
You can find out more about Francisco the Man here.