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THE SHEILA DIVINE
BOSTON’S BRIGHTEST


The Sheila Divine are now attempting to navigate new waters. These are the same choppy pop seas that countless local acts have traversed in the past with varying degrees of success once they’ve tired of being a big fish in a small pond and set their sights on sailing into the national spotlight.

The Sheilas who took the stage at Avalon last Saturday night were by no means novices in the art of reaching beyond Boston for the big time. Over the past several years, they have survived an ill-fated semi-major-label deal with Roadrunner, a company that tends to succeed only when it sticks to what it knows best — metal. And the Sheila Divine are definitely not a metal band. Nevertheless, they’ve enjoyed a certain degree of success in Europe, particularly in Belgium, and this week they’re off to tour China. The group have also survived the relatively recent addition of Colin Decker on guitar and Ryan Dolan on drums.

So the Avalon performance was a chance for the band to give their sizable local fan base a look at the state of their current union. The show itself marked the release of the Sheilas’ new Secret Society EP on the Arena Rock Recording Company indie label. And whatever happens from here on in, they seemed intent on showing that they won’t go down without a fight — or, in the case of singer Aaron Perrino, a Billy Corgan–style scream, which he unleashed during the impassioned "Back to the Cradle."

Like their previous two full-length efforts, The Sheila Divine (1998) and New Parade (1999), Secret Society juxtaposes lush, chiming flights of introspective fancy with more pummeling guitar rockers. Live, even the lighter material took on a heavier tone and was performed with greater urgency. Credit this to the growing chemistry between Decker and the rhythm section of Dolan and bassist Jim Gilbert. Which is not to say the subtle nuances of "Dramatica" didn’t come through, Perrino and Decker pumping life into the mid-tempo rocker with their effervescent guitar interplay.

The heavier tunes created a nice balance, giving the set a pleasant ebb and flow that kept the crowd on its toes. The band played their local radio hit "Hum" early in the set, and the crowd was more than happy to join in on the sing-along chorus. But it was on newer cuts like "We All Have Problems" that the group and Perrino in particular gave the audience a real sense of where the Sheila Divine stand after a tumultuous couple of years trying to break out of Boston. "Where is my success?" he enquired of no one in particular. And though it might seem presumptuous for a band who have already accomplished more than most over the course of their career as a local band to ask such questions, the Sheila Divine haven’t lost any of their ambition — or the talent to go with it.

BY TOM KIELTY

Issue Date: September 26 - October 3, 2002
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