It’s just another gorgeous spring day, meaning rainy and a little colder than we would like, in Seattle and last night was the ‘Bout Damn Time Tour featuring He is We, The Bigger Lights, The Audition and This Providence (locals from our great Emerald City, no less!). Kicking off the great month of May and concluding the end of the cross country tour, the line was already around the corner and halfway down the block with two hours until doors. Keeping with general Seattle tradition, by the time the doors opened, the iconic venue was fairly packed with all ages concert goers and the fun began promptly at 7:30 when He is We took the stage.
Hailing from our neighboring metropolis, Tacoma, He is We honestly took me by surprise. Coming out and working the crowd was Rachel Taylor, the frontwoman and co-founder of the band. I have to admit, this girl can sing. Belting it out, she held the crowd entranced for the better part of their half hour allotted time slot. They transitioned from a full band into some scaled down acoustic songs and upon the return of the rest of the band, they continued to keep the crowd incredibly satiated. Since they are local, there were more than a few sets of lips singing along, adding the mounting energy of the night. They played songs such as “Love-y love,” a slightly squishy and romantic little acoustic blurb, and “Happily Ever After,” a single that would make an amazing debut single. Mixing up a little bit of Paramore’s lyrics and a tiny bit of Fireflight’s sound with a dash of Halestorm’s tenacity and you get the brilliant and wonderful set of lungs that is Rachel Taylor. Upon the conclusion of their set, the venue was buzzing about their band and their upcoming CD release in June. According to Rachel, it will have “between 8 and 10 tracks. Apparently we don’t know for sure yet.” Judging from the atmosphere, I don’t think we are done hearing from these splendid locals anytime soon.
Gracing the stage next was The Bigger Lights from Fairfax, Virginia who many of you have probably seen touring with This Providence over that past couple of years. Channeling their newly released self titled album, they came on and rocked the crowd and served up another helping of the power pop quintent. They have grown remarkably better as a band, but the feel was frankly a little too pop-y for my taste. The crowd enjoyed their crazy antics and their almost Cartel sound (who are coincidentally previous tour mates), pumping their fists and singing along, making the floor of the venue move for the first time all evening. Playing an uneventful set, the band managed to stay on stage despite many hands trying to pull them off and into the crowd. They left with farewells and leaving the multitudes wanting more.
Third up was the last, but certainly not least, opener, The Audition. I have seen them a few times, and all I have to say is WOW. The Chicago natives just keep getting better and better and better. They rocked their way through the entire set while promoting their newly released album Great Danger and favorites off of their The Audition. Some of the highlights included “My Temptures Rising” and “The Art of Living.” Singer Danny Stevens’ voice is the kind that belongs to any mainstream pop punk band, but the Audition has managed to keep their off-the-wall energy going and are still indie enough to bring their own unique sound into play. His vocal talent was clearly some of the best of the night and he belted out lyrics gracefully enough while still managing to work the stage and have a lot of fun, something harder than it usually looks. They stood out on this lineup and made this show an incredible treat for a lot of the audience and my fellow photographers, playing a fun set and readying the crowd for the main attraction.
Seattle houses some of the best hometown shows and This Providence was no exception. With a two hour set, they successfully managed to blow away their previous shows and leave a very satiated crowd eagerly awaiting their next album. Amongst playing every song from their Who Are You Now album, they also handpicked favorites from their previous albums. Before the show, a roadie walked through the line and took votes, culminating in one of the best set lists I have seen from the band in years. Lead singer Dan Young has an insane amount of charisma and band mate David Blaise (bass) is certainly a favorite with the ladies in the crowd. Gavin plays a mean guitar and one unnamed musician (whom I cannot find a name for but looks ODDLY familiar) plays one heck of a keyboard and successfully mixes his keyboarding with guitar strumming and singing, and drummer Andy Horst is an incredible drummer who serves as a good solid background for the band’s wandering tones. With the dulcet melodies and mellow tunes came the juxtaposition of other more upbeat tracks that had the crowd (and every photographer there) singing and dancing, clapping along and thoroughly enjoying yet another hometown show from This Providence. From the comments after the show, I know I am not the only one looking forward to their next album.
