| Giant Step are perfect for the cool kind
of pre-Halloween vibe that permeated Schuba’s this particular night. They rock in a
way that is a bit too straightforward to be rockabilly, but are amiable enough that they
get your attention when they feel like getting a little snarly.
Giant Step aren’t going to try to trick you, but they
will lull you insofar as the standard two-guitar (cousins Jason and Geoff Sabin) bass
(Keith Wilkey) and drum (Josean Correa) belies the band’s penchant for being artsy
and (yes, occasionally) sweet in a way that’s not unsettling, like Sting or Hootie
and the Blowfish can be.
Giant Step were the opening act on this particular night,
and one got the impression they are perhaps not suited to truncated sets. Clearly, their
preference to take the time to flesh out a groove, be it with regard to their music or
their audience. Still, the gritty charm pervading the 45-minute set was more than enough
to leave a good impression.
A little tentative, perhaps, to begin with, the band had
its groove on by the time they reached the core of the set. "Kill," which Jason
Sabin jokingly insisted was not intended to convey any malice, nonetheless sounded pretty
cranky. Not coincidentally, it was perhaps the best of the solid half-dozen songs that
brought the set to a close. Anchored by Correa’s unfettered drumming, Wilkey’s
bass did a heavy-handed dance around the thickest riff the band would produce all evening.
That vibe, also notable in "Headstrong" suggested an emotional peak was
imminent. Alas, headliners Emmet Swimming were waiting in the wings, and so Giant Step had
to decamp while the best was, it appeared, yet to come. If this stint as a bridesmaid is
any indication though, a little persistence may well result in a trip to the altar.
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