Friday, April 1: Pickwick

The Space

By Rev. Adam McKinney on March 30, 2011

Pickwick succeeds almost entirely on the basis of Galen Disston's commanding lead vocal. The band is tight and in the pocket, propping up and supporting Disston, but the show is all ultimately all his, and if his voice faltered in the face of their '60s soul style, the whole thing would collapse under its own weight. Disston's seeming effortlessness is Pickwick's best attribute - the one thing that defies just about every criticism that can be raised in regard to this kind of blue-eyed soul. Following, as they are, in the footsteps of several decades of some of the best pop songwriting there is, it's impressive that Pickwick manage to find new takes on and hooks in the Motown and soul model. And they come out relatively unscathed. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[The Space, with Ivan & Alyosha, Pablo Trucker, 8 p.m., $8-$10, 729 Court C, Tacoma]