First of all, let me start out by saying, as the band pointed out during their set, Keitel is a rock band. The are loud and they make no apologies for it.

Having said that, Keitel is fully capable of stretching their songs out and exploring, but their roots probably run more towards Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones than the Grateful Dead and Phish. While certainly not a heavy metal band, I’m not sure if they are a jamband either. No matter the label, they are a great live band.

Keitel is a four piece band featuring three former members of New Hampshire rockers Harpoon (including Andy Herrick formerly the drummer for Moon Boot Lover) and the former bassist from Durango 95. With three song writers, Keitel definitely has a great catalog of songs to pull from. Surprisingly, when you consider that that there are three song writers, their sound doesn’t change that much with every song. It was, and hopefully always will be, loud rock.

I was a big fan of Harpoon, so I was eagerly looking forward to this show. They were the opening band on a bill with The Vogonz, Granian, and Mountain of Venus. As you might expect for the opening band, the crowd was pretty small. Mostly underage kids and the punker staff who works the venue, the audience might have been a little unprepared for this band’s sound.

The whole band was on it, from the beginning. They opened with “Movie Mind,” a great song that showcased guitarist, Scott Howe. The crowd was still a little bit stand-offish, until Sean Holland, the second guitarist, announced that they had some free cds up on the stage for people.

Keitel is rhythmically dynamic, with many well written songs. Everybody in the band pretty much rocked. Stand-out songs, in my mind were “What I Thought Was,” “Lori’s Song,” “Better” and the final song “Better.” It was great to see the band locking into a groove. Andy Herrick is a monster on the drum kit. Sean Holland, Seth Lamoreaux and Scott Howe each sang with passion and energy, and the music was great.

The only song that I really didn’t care for was “Piss-N-Drool” with it’s chorus of “I pissed myself again.” It just seemed to ruin their image for me. Who would want to sing that into a microphone?

People in the New England area should definitely check this band out. They are at the Stone Church in New Market, NH on 10/04 and they open for Moon Boot Lover on 11/10 at Harper’s Ferry in Boston. Go and give them a chance. Just be prepared for a rock band, and you won’t be disappointed.