High Dials, Standing Tall on Their Own

The High Dials are spending the bulk of their North American tour opening for alt-country superstar Neko Case. But a quirk in the schedule had Case playing the sold-out 9:30 club on Sunday night while the Dials performed a few blocks away for about 40 people at the tiny DC9, part of a showcase sponsored by local webzine Bigyawn.net.

The Canadian quintet didn't get a sound-check and the drummer was making his debut, so the concert had the makings of a minor train wreck. But despite lackluster audio -- the drum kit sounded as if it were covered in carpet -- and the hesitant newbie's light percussion style, which didn't quite fit the High Dials' mixture of '60s pop and '90s shoegaze, the band made it through the one-hour, 11-song set with their shaggy heads held high. Why? It would take a wrecking ball to tear apart the Dials' expertly crafted tunes.

Singer and guitarist Trevor Anderson channels the Beatles (especially "Revolver"), the Zombies and Big Star for his perfect pop songs, and he gets ample support from Rishi Dhir, who plays bubbling Paul McCartney-like bass lines and croons cool high harmonies. They're a powerful tandem, joined by guitarist Robbie MacArthur (who looked like a refugee from the Jesus and Mary Chain) and keyboardist-vocalist Eric Dougherty.

The band's two CDs, "War of the Waking Phantoms" and "A New Devotion," provided the bulk of the set.

-- Christopher Porter