San Antonio Rocks Review: Sintense, Open Chapter and El Sancho
at Rock City Bar
Friday night we headed out once again to Rock City Bar, this
time to catch Sintense, Open Chapter and El Sancho. I hadn't
heard much about El Sancho, so I had no idea what to expect.
We walked in about halfway through their set and I wish we had
gotten there a little earlier to catch the whole thing.
Put together the reggae rock of Sublime and the funk rock of the
Red Hot Chili Peppers and you'll get something like El Sancho.
They really mix it up - every song sounds different, and I love
that. I was talking to some of the guys after their set, and
they told me that they're always writing new songs and that they
play a different setlist at every show. That's cool - keep it
fresh - you never know what to expect! You also never know what
instrument they're going to pull out. They had bongos, maraccas,
a tambourine, a vibraslap and something
else that I missed. You can listen to two of their songs on
MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/elsanchomusic.
You can also listen to the next band's - Open Chapter's - music
on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/openchapter.
The guys in Open Chapter are very young and have a lot of
potential. The singer has a great gritty voice and a good range.
Some really cool-sounding harmonies with the guitarist. The bass
player is way hyper - I kept waiting for him to knock out the
singer with his bass! My only complaint is that I'd like to hear
a little more variety within and between songs. Change it up a
little...different rhythms, more complicated riffs, etc. It's
things like that which make a song catchy, memorable, make it
stick in your head, make you want to hear it again. Other than
that, good modern alternative rock sound. Definitely a band to
keep an eye on.
Next up, Sintense. These guys sent me a CD a while
back, and I've been trying to get out to see them ever since,
and I finally made it. I'm so glad I did. It was a great show!
Sintense has a great alternative rock sound, mixing heavy
driving songs like "Probandt" (my fave) and "4 O'Clock Rush"
with a bit more mellow tunes like the rock ballad "Define Happy"
and the almost classical-sounding "Julias Tune". The singer,
Dex, is extremely energetic, damn near moshing on stage. That
boy needs a much larger stage! Here I kept waiting for him to
take out the bass player! Great guitar and bass riffs from Paul
and Ike. Bernabe jammed on the drums. I think, if given the
chance, these guys could make it far.
They also have a pretty large following. I've never seen Rock
City so packed. About mid-set, I looked over at the far wall and
realized that it had become standing room only in there. They
definitely have a loyal (and violent) fan base...one guy kept
threatening to kick their asses if they didn't play one more
song. They ended up doing several encores!
They have 4 songs up on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/sintense. "Define
Happy" will be on the upcoming Edge
Magazine compilation CD. Also, they're now playing "4
O'Clock Rush" on KISS,
so call up and request it!