Last month I ventured over to Crowbar for Vacationer, a young band out of Philadelphia. I went over to the show after only hearing a few of the group's tunes on Spotify, but was pleasantly surprised with the set. For those unfamiliar with the name, Vacationer is an alt rock group that has released two albums. They're led by lead singer and bass player Kenny Vasoli.
Prior to Vacationer, I enjoyed an entertaining set from a group by the name of 'Great Good Fine Ok.' (great name) These guys bounced around stage for a thirty minute set and seem to be trying to sell themselves as the poor man's Walk the Moon. They wore colorful outfits, featured light up drumsticks and tambourines on stage, and the lead singer sang the entire set in a falsetto.
Vacationer opened with their most popular tune, entitled 'Good As New.' This song is a solid indicator for the band. It gives off a very chill and positive vibe, which seems to be what the group is all about. Though these guys are classified in the alternative genre, I thought their music sounded very tropical. It's fun and easy listening.
Despite 'Good As New' being the only Vacationer song I knew the lyrics of, the remainder of the set was still plenty enjoyable. Vasoli sounded great on vocals, and the band made a push to connect with the intimate crowd. Vasoli told a story about being at Crowbar before, in the audience for a Dr. Dog show. The band also changed up their setlist on the spot to satisfy the request of one audience member.
Overall, I enjoyed the performance and style of the band. I'd see them again, and will definitely throw them on some good easy listening music on Spotify.
While in LA for a few days, I was able to catch a show by pop alternative group Misterwives. For those unfamiliar with the name, the group hails from New York City and released their debut album earlier this year. They've had a huge year and are enjoying selling out nearly every night on their first current headlining tour.
The show I saw was at the Belasco Theatre, which already had the floor at capacity when I arrived at the venue. I grudgingly had to watch on from the balcony, which is a different and non preferred experience for myself.
The band came out strong with energetic tune 'Best I Can Do' to open. This song summarized Misterwives' abilities well. It features two horn players, adding a strong brass sound that most alt bands don't have. The trumpet and saxophone players were fun to watch throughout the entire set. They even had a battle of sorts at one point, which was very entertaining.
The catalyst for the group though is lead singer Mandy Lee. Mandy might have the best vocals of any band I've seen all year (sorry Florence). Her voice is powerful and unique, drawing the audience in. She's also infectious to watch on stage. Mandy could easily get the entire crowd to jump around with her, or command their quiet attention for the stripped down slower tunes. (See 'Coffins' for a good example)
Probably the most disappointing part of the night for male attendees at this show was when Mandy revealed she's dating the drummer of the band. Other than that though, she was definitely one of my favorite lead singers of any group I've seen on the year.
Favorite tunes on the night were probably the stomping 'Vegabond,' the flashy 'Not Your Way,' and 'Oceans,' which best shows off the vocal abilities of Lee. Misterwives also threw in a cool cover of the The Weeknd's 'Can't Feel My Face.' For those that have never listened to this band at all, check out their most popular tune in 'Reflections.'
Overall, it was a very enjoyable show. Misterwives is a great festival band, and they're also fun in a club. They should get even bigger with some new material in the future.
Concert Rating: 3 Stars
SETLIST:
1. Best I Can Do
2. No Need for Dreaming
3. Oceans
4. Hurricane
5. Coffins (with Landslide)
6. Vagabond
7. Queens
8. Reflections
9. Can't Feel My Face (The Weeknd cover)
10. Our Own House
Encore:
11. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston cover)
12. Imagination Infatuation
It's been a great year for British rock group Catfish and the Bottlemen. The alternative band released their debut album in the UK last year and followed that up with a US release at the beginning of 2015. The album, entitled The Balcony has received critical acclaim, and is towards the top of my personal list for favorite albums of the year. With the help of a few radio singles, Catfish is currently on their second headlining tour of the US this year.
While traveling for work, I was able to squeeze in a night in LA to catch this young group. The show was at the Fonda Theatre, and was close to sold out. The audience was on the younger side, but was absolutely ready when Catfish hit the stage just after 10pm.
The England natives opened to the sound of jumping feet with 'Rango.' Right away, you could tell the band was dialed in and the crowd was loving it. Every song seemed to evoke more jumping and singing, as the band rattled through 'Pacifier,' 'Business' and 'Kathleen' towards the first half of the set.
The best received song was current radio single 'Cocoon.' If you're unfamiliar with the band, this is the song of theirs to check out. It has an Arctic Monkeys feel with a friendly chorus to get the crowd going. I also must give some love to 'Tyrants,' which provided an epic ending.
Obviously the driving force behind the band is lead singer Van McCann. The frontman had tons of energy and was infectious to watch on stage. While the backing band members seemed much more casual, Van was constantly moving across the stage, ripping through guitar solos, and wailing along the vocals. It's no surprise Van was voted biggest rock star by Consequence of Sound after Catfish scored the most shared set online at Glastonbury this year.
While Van was center stage all night, he dismissed his band mates towards the end of the set to perform 'Hourglass' acoustically. This was a nice change up hearing the acoustic guitar. I'd say 'Hourglass' and the outro for 'Homesick' were probably the best two sing a longs of the night.
With only one album worth of material to play off, the guys were done in just under an hour. They definitely extended some songs with longer instrumental sections, but they didn't play any other tunes in the works or covers. Nevertheless though, hearing one of my favorite albums of the year in its entirely was completely satisfying.
Overall impressions was that this band has a great sound and are poised to blow up in America eventually. They may need another album, or big single to get them more exposure, but the sound is absolutely there. They also seemed very appreciative and thanked the fans multiple times for coming out. Lastly, a shout out to lead singer Van McCann for being such a rock star.
I became quite familiar with the band The Neighbourhood back in 2013. They're an alternative group out of California, who often abbreviate their name NBHD. Tampa radio station 97X had high praise for them when they released their debut album back in early 2013. I enjoyed it as well, and traveled up to Orlando to see them on their first national headlining tour. I even reviewed their debut in full last spring.
Throughout their breakout year of 2013, I caught their gigs at Lollapalooza, their opening show for Imagine Dragons, and their evening set at the 2013 Coastline Music Fest. It was pretty cool to see the venues and size of their shows grow. Now two years later, the band is back with a sophomore album.
The Tampa fan base for these guys is still strong, and they performed at Jannus Live for a mostly full courtyard on a Monday night. They followed up an opening set by ever touring group - Bad Suns. I've reviewed multiple sets by these guys in the past, but the performance from them was not as good. I think lead singer Christo Bowman may have had a cold, but he didn't sound as strong and captivating as in the past.
As it should be, the main act was much better. They came out playing a new song, entitled 'Ferrari,' which sounded awesome. The guitar riff was catchy and jumpy, getting the crowd into it early. Lead singer Jesse Rutherford seems to have improved as a frontman as well. The vocalist soaked up the crowds cheers and performed shirtless for the majority of the show. With his current hair style, his silloette reminded me of The Strokes' Julian Casablancas.
The beginning of the show was very solid for NBHD. The new material was well received and they kept the fans entertained with numerous songs from their debut album throughout the night. I thought early highlights were 'Wires' from the bands earliest EP, and second single 'Female Robbery.'
I thought one of the coolest things about the show was the imagery and feel that the band gave off. As is similar to their music videos, almost everything on stage was in black and white. The lights created a great vibe, but almost made it where you never got a good look at the band members. They remained cloaked in darkness for the most part, with only silhouettes visible against the mesmerizing video screen.
The one negative point of the night came when Rutherford dismissed the remainder of the band for a solo section. He sang a number of tunes that had a much more rap / hip-hop feel. These tunes were heavy on bass, and his voice was even auto-tuned for one of them. Maybe this is a new direction for the band? But regardless the section was too long and too much of an EDM feel for that moment of the night.
The guys finished strong though as the remainder of the group came back on stage. Rutherford sounded great doing a cover of Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy.' The Californian group then finished strong with best known tune in 'Sweater Weather,' followed by new single 'R.I.P. 2 My Youth.'
Overall, a decent show for a Monday night at Jannus. I'm not sure if this new album will quite live up to their height that 97X set following their debut, but they still put on a good show. The Neighbourhood will be back in Tampa in December for the already stacked 97x Next Big Thing.
Concert Rating: 3 Stars
SETLIST:
1. Ferrari Intro
2. Prey
3. WDYWFM
4. Let It Go
5. Wires
6. Baby Come Home
7. Afraid
8. Daddy Issues
9. Female Robbery
10. The Beach
11. Wiped Out!
12. Medley (Lurk, Jealou$y, Dangerous, When I Get Back, #icanteven, U&I)
13. Warm
14. Crazy (Gnarls Barkley cover)
15. Sweater Weather
16. R.I.P. 2 My Youth
I just recently published a review of a Twenty One Pilots show, live from the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. That review was just one of two, as I was back at that same venue the following night. Although tickets were selling for nearly 3 times the face value on stubhub the day of the show, I couldn't resist another evening with this amazing duo.
Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun opened promptly at 8:45 to the familiar starter in 'HeavyDirtySoul.' The entire setlist ended up being identical to the previous evening, which was by no means a bad thing. The Tuesday show was a 4 star performance, and the Wednesday vibe was even better. Plus the band had a great surprise up their sleeve.
After six songs into the set, Joseph acknowledged that this was the bands second night in NYC, and that they had something special in store for the night 2 crowd. He then explained that they've made some friends in New York over the years, and invited a parade of alternative bands to join them on stage. This included Misterwives, Walk the Moon, Halsey, Hoodie Allen, and Matt & Kim.
The super group all sang together for 'We Don't Believe What's on TV.' Misterwives lead singer Mandy Lee even took the lead with singing the second verse. It was an awesome moment to see so many accomplished groups on stage together. Twenty One Pilots toured relentlessly for years, and the connections they've made showed through here.
Another set highlight was the always fun 'Run and Go,' from the Vessel album. This is one of my personal favorites, so I was exceptionally happy to see this on the setlist. It's a favorite for the Pilots to play live and at one point of the song, they ask all the fans to 'Get Up!' on someone else's shoulders. It's just one of the many wild moments in the club like atmosphere of the duo's performance.
'Run and Go' was just one example of the amazing energy put into the second half of the set. Josh once again rode his drum set into the crowd on 'Ride,' and Tyler had fans raising him up above the crowd for 'Holding on to You.' The appropriate closer was 'Car Radio,' where Joseph actually went to a platform towards the back of the room that served as a second stage.
Over the years I've seen a couple different bands on back to back nights. I think on every occasion, night 2 has always been better. This show was no exception. While the performance put on night 1 was great, the sequel seemed to be a bit stronger and the special appearances by other bands put it over the top.
I love these guys and can't wait to see them again! Tampa should be primed and ready for their headlining gig at 97x's Next Big Thing this year. As a current ticket holder for a pit seat, I have an anxious feeling that will be a top 5 show of an already huge year.
December 5th. So pumped!
CONCERT RATING: 4.5 Stars
SETLIST:
1. HeavyDirtySoul
2. Stressed Out
3. Guns for Hands
4. Migraine
5. Polarize
6. House of Gold (Intro Only)
7. We Don't Believe What's On TV (with friends)
8. The Judge
9. Lane Boy
Medley:
10. The Pantaloon (Verse 1 and Chorus)
11. Semi-Automatic (Chorus)
12. Forest (Chorus)
13. Screen (Chorus)
14. Ode to Sleep (Chorus)
15. Addict with a Pen (Verse 1 and Rap)
16. Screen (Bridge)
17. Doubt
18. Message Man
19. Ride
20. The Run and Go
21. Holding on to You
22. Tear in My Heart
23. Car Radio
