The "eclectic new rock" machine known as FLUTTR took over the Hard Rock Café on October 3rd. Founded just last June by Troy Kidwell and Vessela Stoyanova, Fluttr sounds as if they've been playing together for years, and as soon as their set started you know you were dealing with professionals.

Their mere presence commanded the attention of their audience. Their intro, with lighter atmospheric sounds of electronics, electric cello and guitar let you know that a bomb was about to explode that is if your eyes weren't glued to the interpretive movements and dance of the lead singer, Kara Trott. With the gentle sounds in seven by cellist Valerie Thompson in your ears, and graceful visual imagery by gorgeous, Goth princess Kara, Fluttr began what they would do all night: create a complete sonic atmosphere, as opposed to just playing a bunch of songs.
Their rock originals (by Kidwell), ranged from semi-light to hard. When it comes to live rock music, the one thing that all bands have to strive for is creating that wall of sound, that completely surrounds the listener, leaving no cracks or spaces for the outside world to leak in. Fluttr gets an A in this department. The only time cracks were left unfilled was at the start of Thompson's electric cello solo section. Though this is a great idea, and one I would like to hear again in the future, for this specific venue and audience, they lost a little bit of the control they had over the crowd for those few minutes before the band came back in to complete the Irish section of the night.

Each member of the five-piece Boston band is an important ingredient that is specifically called for to achieve this unique result. With all the crazy guitar players around Berklee, at first glance, Kidwell may not appear to stand out as a player because you won't see him doing tons of crazy guitar fills that we are used to seeing around Berklee. Thank God! Troy adds so much more to his music. He has his own special style that although may not fit in all circumstances, is perfect for Fluttr. Most of the songs were written by him, and as it's always much more personal to hear a song sung by the songwriter, Troy somehow puts that emotion and feelings into his guitar playing and the same personal connections are felt by all. His use of effects and delay are a lesson in tastefulness in context.

Stoyanova builds on the musical fusion by adding an Eastern influence to the group. She is an outstanding marimba player, as well as a high-energy performer, and it is a lot of fun to watch her play. Vessela plays on a MIDI marimba, so she adds several electronic and orchestral textures to Fluttr's sound in addition to her mallet playing.

Thompson continues to mix things up by replacing the typical bass with electric cello, adding yet another flavor. Although seemingly more in the background, drummer Jason Marchionna is the perfect person to hold a group like this together. He plays around the band, adding his specific part to the mix, rather than overplaying. His ability and approach to minimalism is important, so that there are places to build to, since Marchionna can also rock like a mofo!

Although by description the group sounds interesting, one more spice had to be dropped in the soup. Kara is simply an amazing front woman, and really puts the candle on the cake. Her voice is filled with strength and beauty, and has elements of a darker, less pop-esque Gwen Stephanie. Her stage presence is astounding, as she totally controls the attention and emotion of the audience. Even when she was not singing, Kara was an active member in the music making. During instrumentals, instead of moving to the side and "turning it off" for a number, she was very active in movement and never once put down her creative paintbrush, but instead continued to paint and environment with the other four instrumentalists, by emitting energy by the gallon.

The one thing that they had going against them was the venue. The lighting of the Hard Rock sells these guys short. It's tough to create a convincing eclectic atmosphere when room lights are on. Ideally I would like to see Fluttr play a place with lighting more appropriate to their music. From the heavier "Meaningless" and "Detrimentalisman" to the more radio friendly, "Flan O'Brien," Fluttr is coming up with some great original music that you really cant' hear anywhere else. Fluttr plays around often, so check out www.FLUTTR.com to see where and when they are playing next, and you best be at the show!