Viper Creek Club

Posted by Nick Larzalere on January 28th, 2010 at 1:32 PM

To See Rating: 6.5/10
Just Curious Rating: 6.1/10

Band Members:
Mat Wisner – Synth, Vocals
Brandon Jensen – Guitar

Photo by: Caitlyn Mirete

After their first show, Viper Creek Club(VCC) has proven that they can sound just as good live as in the studio. And while there wasn’t quite the line that Nikki Benson promised, there was a respectable audience gathered around the stage of the High Dive. The set was mostly electro-pop, with most songs having a trace of ambiance throughout.

Viper Creek Club is composed of Mat Wisner and Brandon Jensen, and both bring their unique skills to their songs. Wisner provides vocals for all the songs, as well playing the synth while supplying most of the loops for the songs. Brandon Jensen was bent over his guitar for the entire set, and provided the perfect companion to Wisner’s beats and vocals.

No matter how much practice and experience a band has, there is bound to be a few noticeable mistakes during the set. Viper Creek Club had only one slip-up during the performance right before the second song. Wisner selected the wrong backing track and the opening notes of the previous song were heard. After quickly laughing it off, the correct track was played. Less than 15 seconds after the slip-up occurred, VCC was back in the groove and stayed there for the rest of the night.

The energy of the crowd was good, but it never got too high or low. There was no peaks or valleys to that night’s experience. There were groups of people dancing, but never any one song that go the entire crowd to move. All eyes were onstage, but there was very little to reward those eyes. Viper Creek Club closed with Eliza, a song that most people reading SSG should be familiar with by now. Mat stepped out from behind the keys and took center stage for the finale. With the loops playing through the synth, Wisner was contorting onstage as he attempted to bring a strong close to the set, and for that he succeeded. I’m not saying that Viper Creek Club should have a massive stage show, or even a small one, but there should be something to get the audience excited. That small complaint can easily be remedied as VCC plays more shows together. Mat Wisner and Brandon Jensen create dynamic music, it would just be nice if the audience could see it as well as hear it.

Viper Creek Club will be releasing their first full-length, Letters, on April 1, and the video for the song Eliza should be out by the end of February. Please enjoy these clips from the show that night at the High Dive: