This was my first time seeing Weatherbox perform so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was a late show at the Jackpot in Lawrence Kansas which made for a small and intimate setting. 
The two openers were local Lawrence acts: Second Star Operator and From Quiet Arms.
I had never seen Second Star Operator before, and I was fairly impressed by them. The vocals were definitely there and several of their songs seemed to have a great hook. I look forward to seeing them again and would be anxious to hear what they would sound like if they were to go in-studio.
Next up was From Quiet Arms, which I have seen from time to time over the past few years. This band has always had great stage presence and has definitely maintained a consistent sound. They have continued to grow, both musically and professionally as musicians and as any band should strive to do, is improve and grow along the way. These guys like to go all out and try to bring anything they would do in studio onto the stage, this time with a lot more harmonizing vocals that I am used to hearing from them which I enjoyed quite a bit.
For the show being on a Tuesday, during a KU basketball game there was a decent amount of people out at the show. I noticed a lot of fans and friends of the local acts coming out to support and sing along with their friends and soon after the secnd band, From Quiet Arms performed the venue began to dissipate. Soon a new crowd of people came forward just as Weatherbox was getting ready to perform and the local crowd seemed to either leave or be hanging out towards the back of the venue at tables.
Weatherbox’s set started off by three or four solo songs by singer, Brian Warren just him and his guitar. His songs were all raw/acoustic in style- besides the fact that it was played on clean electric- but I definitely enjoyed his set. The rest of the band stood in the audience as he performed, which is part of the experience going to a show at such a small venue- the opportunity to interact with the bands.
The rest of the band joined Warren on stage as they kicked up the pace. After the first song with the full band the crowd in front of the stage began to thicken as local scene kids and the guys from Second Star Operator and From Quiet Arms trickled back in. The show definitely had an obvious separation of fans. There were those who were initially there for the local acts and those who came up later strictly for the headliner (not unheard of). There was several people right up in the front that were dancing and singing along the entire time while towards the back were those, like myself, hearing this band for the first time. 
A few songs into their full band set they stopped playing and a mix of smiles were shared by the guys on stage. They revealed to the crowd that they had just acquired a new bassist (Landon Hedges of Omaha’s Little Brazil), and by ‘just’ they meant only hours before the show. I was not sure if that was an exaggeration or not but thought it was interesting. Pretty impressive if it was the truth, that this new bassist learned their whole set just before the show. They got ready to start the song back from the chorus when someone from the crowed yelled out “START FROM THE BEGINNING.” This motion was backed up by the rest of the audience, and not daring to disagree, Weatherbox started the song over again.
I hope that those in the crowd who, like me, were seeing this band for the first time were as taken with the band as myself and will make their way to see them again. They were excellent performers and enjoyed their entire set. As for the new bassist story, pretty impressive feat if he did learn that quickly.
