Blackstone Rangers / Love Inks Review
At Canton Coop
by Root Chakra
Last Saturday night Canton Co-op was filled up with Dallas music fans for the third return of Love Inks this year. They headlined the set with local band Blackstone Rangers opening up, along with Kiwi Sisters. Blackstone Rangers went on at 11pm sharp. The music of Blackstone Rangers is a tasty blend of psychedelic rock mixed with electronica. They have multiple effect pedals set up that add an assortment of nice textures, layers, and some heavy distortion. Even through a few technical difficulties the crowd stayed with them, offering unanimous support. The visuals paired with their music were perfect. Great swirling psychedelic images complemented the experimental nature of their music. Both Ruthie and Derek share vocals on different tracks which makes for a nice contrast. Their sound is heavy, and yet very dance-able on certain songs.
Love Inks is a trio from Austin. They have a dreamy indie pop thing going on. Their set started with “Skeleton Key” as followed by breakout hits “Leather Glove” and “Black Eye”. They also did an honorable cover of David Essex’s “Rock On”. Sherry’s voice is rich and warm and full of melody. The band ended their set with a song that was written about Sherry’s Dad, titled “Too Late”. She tried to share an intimate moment with the audience, asking for everyone to “shut the fuck up” in the nicest way that has probably ever been done before. Most people quieted down, a few kept up their conversations, but those who listened got to share in that moment. The best line of the night, by far, was when Sherry said between songs that “The Muppet Movie will make you cry.” Definitely got a laugh. Love Inks has been touring pretty hard core for the last year and it shows in their performance. The band members obviously have a strong connection to each other that comes out through their music. Even though this has been their third visit to Dallas in a year it is always a pleasure to have them. They’re our neighbors, our Austin Indie dreamers.