On Sunday, Aug. 10, Soda Bar welcomed two exciting rock bands from Nashville: Those Darlins and Diarrhea Planet. Both groups are currently touring behind their latest albums released last year. Bluesy four-piece Those Darlins put out its third album “Blur the Line,” while wild party-starters Diarrhea Planet gained attention with its second album “I’m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams.” While each dabbles in different styles of rock music, guitar-playing remains essential for both.
Those Darlins began with slight delay due to struggle with its equipment. But the unfortunate bump went out the wayside once the show started. High-powered frontwoman Jessi Zazu quickly kicked things in high gear as the group rolled through the band’s latest material. Her stage presence came alive especially when she sang confrontational songs such as “Ain’t Afraid” and “That Man” that put men on blast. The performance had Zazu walking off stage and ripping into a tough guitar solo as she dropped to her knees.
When Diarrhea Planet took stage, it became clear the act was completely different from any rock act I’ve seen before: it turns out four out of six people in the band were guitarists. And how does a band with four guitarists sound? Well, imagine crusted up jukeboxes blasting ‘70s rock staples such as Cheap Trick at a dive bar. Diarrhea Planet’s giddy, immediate riffs were made to accompany alcohol-fueled venues like Soda Bar. Multiply the drunken enthusiasm by four and there’s a good approximation of a Diarrhea Planet show.
Diarrhea Planet’s music satisfied the simplest centers of satisfaction, and the reactions of many attendees expressed a shameless sense of pleasure. Head-banging commenced almost as an auto-response. A few guys around me fiddled their fingers to nail a solo on an air guitar. One man up front proudly raised the devil horns all night. It looked comical and cheesy from afar, but nevertheless those responses were the most appropriate.
Towards the end of the show, frontman Jordan Smith asked the crowd if anyone’s going to work the following day. Perhaps the worst question to ask on a Sunday night but Smith had an anthem stashed up for the people of the workforce. The band then closed the show with the song “Fauser” containing the lyrics, “there’s so much f—king s–t to deal with and I quit.” Diarrhea Planet certainly gave fans a memorable night to tell coworkers the next morning. But more than stories, the band left an impression as one of most exciting guitar acts on the road
