Allofasudden - 7/30/2010 - @ Milk in SF, CA - Review

Words: Sammy Martin
Photos: Greg Heffelfinger

 Milk is a small club in the famous Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco. On this particular night we were there to see a local band called Allofasudden, a true rock and roll band with jam tendencies and a full inclusive sound.

The opening band was Things Gone Weird, a trio made up of Hugo Gallo on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, Joe Uva on acoustic guitar and Alex Holderbrand on Bass, Congas and Mandolin. They put on a high intensity performance covering songs by Rusted Root, Radiohead and more. The way that they used their dialed down trio to perform some of these great songs by great bands was quite impressive and the chemistry between the two guitarists was not to be overlooked. One can only look forward to see what will come of this unique trio in the future.

Allofasudden is a quartet from San Francisco made up of Sean Stringfellow on bass and vocals, Art McConnel on drums, Nathan Cole on keys and Tyler Shusterman on guitar and vocals. They came out on stage and delved right into their set. Opening up with PTSD, a strong blues-rock number with Stringfellow on lead vocals, it was a very solid song to start with. Catchy but not poppy PTSD showcased the seasoned guitarmanship of Shusterman, which was a constant throughout the show.

They played a number of songs off of their debut album Appear which they recorded in their own home studio and at Expressions a music studio/school in the East Bay. Stringfellow and Shusterman founded Allofasudden in 2005 and they are currently working on their second album. 

 Some of the high points of the show was Shusterman's quick fingers and noodling during the jamming sections of their songs. Also the way they would slowly open a song with a space like jam with small licks from Shusterman, and slow rhythmic bass-lines from Stringfellow. Along with the machine like constant drumming of McConnel. It set a foundation for them jump into songs like "Susan", "Beelzebub" and "Disappear". They encored their set with a very rare and amazing cover of "Get up, Jake" by The Band, it was executed near perfectly with their own touch added for good measure.

Each song flowed well into each other getting the crowd into the show. By the time they were on their second song the dance floor was filling up with enthusiastic fans and newbies being turned onto a great up and coming band. All together Allofasudden put on a very impressive show that is worth giving and second and third look. They are definitely in a growing stage and have room to improve, but their ability to put on a great show with a nice set list and showcase the talents of each member shows where they're at as a band today.

Http://www.allofasudden.com