Veruca Salt brings musical spice to Atlanta bar

The name Veruca Salt may sound familiar to you. If so, it is probably because you've seen or read Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (or seen the remake with Johnny Depp).

It's also the name of a rock band that is at that odd level of fame where they have had some success and made it all over MTV and pop radio at one point, but they still only occupy a sort of fringe popularity.

It is rare for the band to keep the same lineup through its entire existence and Veruca Salt, like most bands, has shuffled its lineup through the years since its 1994 debut American Thighs and its screamy hit "Seether".

Almost a decade after the departure of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Nina Gordon and drummer Jim Shapiro, singer and guitarist Louise Post is the only remaining original member in the band.

At this point in their careers, most bands would be resting on their faded glory. Instead, Veruca Salt is confidently charging ahead with new material that is on par with the work in their earlier incarnation.

Veruca Salt played in Atlanta Monday, Oct. 9 at Smith's Olde Bar. The band is currently touring in promotion of their new album, IV, released on the independent label Sympathy for the Record Industry. Along with them came opening acts The Strays and Agent Sparks.

This choice of venue documents the career path Veruca Salt has taken-from a major label and big stadiums to the cozy upstairs lounge of a bar on Piedmont Avenue.

But make no mistake, the band played for what was probably a couple hundred of devoted fans who packed the lounge a little bit past the point where comfort was a possibility (not to mention any hope of coming home with clothes that didn't knock you out with the stench of cigarette smoke).

The opening time for the concert was listed at 7 p.m., but the upstairs area did not even open up until about an hour and a half later.

It was another hour before the opening acts even started. The official explanation was "Thank you for your patience." Well, so much for that.

The Strays, a band with a sort of English punk sound and look (think loud guitars, leather jackets, ripped jeans, and long hair), opened things up.

Following them was Agent Sparks, who had a slower sound that more relied on melodies driven by the vocals of the male and female dual lead singers.

Both bands sounded great, and by the time Veruca Salt took the stage at about 11:15 p.m. I did not mind having to wait so long because I had already had a pretty good time hearing the first two acts.

The approximately hour long set featured a lot of the band's new album, like the lead track "So Weird" with its hard guitar sound underlying bristling lyrics ("You don't know me / You don't own me / You're just passing through my life") in keeping with the style that has worked for them since their inception. Mixed in were some old hits like 1997's "Volcano Girls,"the other song that experienced the most mainstream approval.

When they left the stage for the obligatory "Wait for the crowd to cheer for us to come back" water break, the place of the typical applause of gratitude was replaced by screams of "Seether!", the song that was likely the reason for most of those in attendance graciously giving up their Monday night (actually Tuesday morning by this point).

After Post returned for a wonderful a capella rendition of "One Last Time", the crowd got what they wanted when the rest of the group came out, accompanied by the musicians from the night's opening acts.

Where the original "Seether" had both Post and Gordon on vocals, the second female vocalist part was taken by Agent Sparks' Stephanie Eitel.

A few more songs and the night was finally over, sending the audience off on their merry ways and wondering how they were possibly going to function the next morning.

I was pleased to be treated to three great-sounding acts with three distinct sounds, and furthermore happy to discover Smith's as a performance venue, with its intimate atmosphere where the groups seemed a little more accessible and their performance more personal than when sitting 300 feet from a stage lined with security guards.