TheVines:Rocking Your Brains Out With Enthusism and Rage

Bristling with aggression and a hard rock attitude, Vines singer Craig Nichols is throwing his guitar around, his back to the audience, his arms flailing, singing and screaming like you never thought possible. But since this is the 21st century, and guitars are expensive these days, he's allowing the strobe lights to do all the hard work for him, the dizzying beams of colors confusing the scene just enough to make us believe that it's …

…two-year-old suffering a temper tantrum, he screams, open-mouthed and eyes closed, only to suddenly stop and look at the ceiling, wide-eyed and wondering. His vocals range from high and fragile to demonic and pained. But it's in the stripped-down, conciliatory yet demanding cover of Outkast's Miss Jackson that true glory comes. An acoustic guitar is strummed beneath Nichols's slow, passionate rendition as the Vines swap hip-hop for angst and creep closer to stealing your heart.