popwreckoning

I always loved the videos that Straylight Run crafted, so I was thrilled to see that the creative visual stories are continuing in John Nolan’s solo project. I love how this video balances images of the adorable relationship of Nolan and his wife with images of him struggling inner demons and life pressures.

Check out this video for “Til It’s Done to Death” and if you find yourself craving more Nolan, swing by his site to download a free live EP.

John Nolan, formerly of Straylight Run and Taking Back Sunday, has been busy touring and coming up with new works for his solo project.

Between touring with Mansions, working to put his album out on vinyl and preparing a digital EP, Nolan still found extra time to treat his fans. To kick off the New Year, he has a free live EP that you can download here.

Tour Dates:
Jan 22 – Moe’s / Englewood, Colorado
Jan 23 – Kilby Court / Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 25 – The Vera Project /  Seattle, Washington
Jan 26 – Backspace / Portland, Oregon
Jan 28 – The Wire / Upland, California
Jan 29 – Chain Reaction / Anaheim, California
Feb 2 – Chyro Arts / Scottsdale, Arizona
Feb 4 – Emo’s / Austin, Texas
Feb 5 – Art Ambush / Waco, Texas
Feb 6 – Rock Bottom / San Antonio, Texas
Feb 7 – Prophet Bar / Dallas, Texas

There are albums that are so overproduced that they lose all their authenticity. There are albums that are just right, and then there are those albums that are almost there. With just a little more studio time and mixing, former Straylight Runner Michelle DaRosa would have an amazing little album in her catalog with It Goes On, the first album from Darosa’s new band Destry.

On a first listen, It Goes On sounds a little like folky b-sides from Rilo Kiley’s first album – with Darosa’s voice paralleling Jenny Lewis’ softer tone. But with a couple more rounds you can see the potential that’s been brought together with Destry. “Don’t Forget Me” and “Home Isn’t Home” are probably the strongest examples of how this record is so easy to listen to. That’s exactly what it is – likeable folk pop.

The couple times Destry breaks away from the similar sound comes in the middle of It Goes On. “Trouble,” a bluesy track that shows the rich lower tone of DaRosa’s voice with a haunting bass line that sounds like walking down a dark, wet street and wind blowing through the trees. Right after comes the piano-laden title track, which is a cross between a ballad and a waltzy folk song. It would fit perfectly into the repertoire of pop songs that often provide the backing track on “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Let it be known that It Goes On came together as the band members sent demos back and forth, which is why it is such a simplistic and sometimes rudimentary first effort. Like I said before, if the band members had gotten together to properly collaborate and write the album, the plain shells of songs would have flourished into something even more beautiful. More producing would help Destry separate itself from its more established predecessors.

But as a first effort, It Goes On works on the most basic level – it’s pleasant to listen to.

Track Listing:
01. Don’t Forget Me
02. So Far Away
03. Leave the Lights On
04. Big Mouths
05. Trouble
06. It Goes On
07. Home Isn’t Home
08. I Made A Mistake
09. Sing My Song
10. Took the Money
11. Tearing It Apart

Destry: website | myspace

In my circle of friends it is a running joke that Marco only likes Warped Tour bands. Now there is nothing wrong with that, but there is so much more out there than just that pop punk sound. In an effort to diversify his music tastes, we’ve been trying to get Marco to as many shows as possible. I think after the shock of the genre “gypsy punk,” which can be a bit out there, Marco was starting to be wary of the shows I was taking him to. So I might have tricked him into accompanying me into a particular Record Bar show.

“The Starting Line was quite popular on Warped Tour, Marco. The singer from the band is playing an intimate venue. Plus another singer at this show used to be in Taking Back Sunday. They played Warped Tour, too!”

Marco agreed and it wasn’t until we got him through the door that we told him an itsy confession.

“So, um, Marco. Yeah, these solo projects of these ‘warped tour bands,’ don’t exactly sound like those pop punk bands. The different projects sound nothing alike. In fact, this show might be what you would call ‘indie.’” Marco was nervous, but he stuck it out. And as the first band played, I saw him nodding his head a long with the music.

Mulanix Street Orchestra opened with their brand of folk alternative rock. Perhaps is not quite the best word because when they picked up speed and drummer Jeremy Morton’s beats carried them to the end of the song, it was edgier than your typical idea of folk rock. Yet singer Erica Fitzgerald had kind of a Nashville sound to her voice giving it that undeniable element. I think many would be surprised that such a mature sounding band was the result of rural Missouri roots. Having formed in Kirksville, they’re a bit rough around the edges, but could definitely go places when they refine themselves just a little.

The hilarious Brian Bonz & The Dot Hongs took to the tiny stage next. I’ve seen Bonz several times in the past year and while I know I can always count on his music to be consistent, his stage banter is always…unique. Bonz is a character…And I don’t say that just because the Dot Hongs and Bonz brought animals masks with them to wear.

“Joining us all the way from the set of ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ I present to you on bass: Jinda,” said Bonz as he introduced one of his bandmates. If I didn’t know what a nice guy Bonz was and if it wasn’t evident with the band’s interactions and body language that this was in all in good fun, I’d almost be offended, but instead I couldn’t stop laughing.

The stage banter offsets Bonz’ music in a bit a funky contrasting, yet complimentary way. Speaking he can be a bit jarring in his sarcastic humor, but then it switches back to one of his songs and I just chuckle as I see the jaws drop when he begins to sing. I can almost see those little cartoon thought bubbles pop up around people’s heads, “That sweet, croon is from that guy who just used the “F” word a second ago? I don’t believe it.”

I seriously don’t know why Bonz isn’t more popular. The guy doesn’t even need a microphone to carry his voice through the venue. And the dynamics! Dynamic control is so rare in a singer these days, but Bonz will use crescendos and descrescendos like the best of the classic singers.

Bonz invited John Nolan and his wife, Camille, on stage for a song, and while I’m a sucker for the guest bits, I don’t think the guest spots had anything on the brilliant Broken Social Scene cover Bonz wrapped up with. The Dot Hongs left just Bonz alone with an acoustic guitar and his beautiful voice to sing a cover of “Superconnected” that gives the original a run for its money.

Finally it was time for the band I was most eager to see: Person L. First, I’d like to apologize to Kenny Vasoli. I think I kept selling Person L short because I was so attached to The Starting Line and I think I wanted Person L to be a rehash of the Starting Line. But it is not.  Aside from Kenny’s voice being so distinct, there really are no similarities between the two bands. So when the first Person L record came out in August 2008, I didn’t give it its due credit. I even went out to this show half-hoping that he would play a TSL cover, but he didn’t. After watching Person L play, I’m glad he didn’t.

Person L has improved so much and the songs from their new album, The Positives, that just came out on Tuesday, Nov. 17, are much more rocking and solid pieces. I think the debut record got a little too experimental, but this new one is almost like jazz rock. I’m also in love with the idea of double percussionists. It gave the live show an extra depth. I’ve also never seen Kenny give so much energy in a performance. Did he move around as much with TSL? I’m not so sure he did. His stage presence was phenomenal and if Kansas City kids weren’t so scared of touching others and catching swine flu, I’m sure there would have been some moshing.

So if you’re going to this tour expecting TSL, you won’t get it. But you will get Person L and that band does put on a great show that is worth checking out, as is their sophomore album.

Finally, it was time for the headliner, John Nolan. This show was sort of a homecoming for him since he now lives close to Kansas City in Lawrence. Many know him as a former member of Taking Back Sunday and also as the singer of Straylight Run. As a soloish musician (soloish, since his wife, Camille, joins on most of his tunes), he sounds like an acoustic and stripped down Straylight Run. It’s still a different sound and one that is a bit happier, but the transition to Nolan solo side project from his previous band isn’t as drastic as going from something like TSL to Person L. And if you are going to this tour, Nolan does appease the Straylight fans with a few of those songs and looking at set lists from different nights, these are songs for the true Straylight fans and not just the casual “Existentialism” listeners. He also played some of his recent “Collaboration Experiment,” which is available for free download, but the set mostly featured songs from his new solo debut Height.

As I said earlier, this was very stripped down. Camille played keys for many of the tunes, and John played acoustic guitar, but it was really just a spotlight on his voice: his lyrics. The passion, the pain, and much like the lyrics with Straylight, the same brilliant commentary and reflections. However, Straylight lyrics seemed to be more of a global reflection or thoughts on another. “A laundry list of problems doesn’t make you interesting,” and “Tearing out all these open pages / Women and kids of all ages / Millions of men with blank faces /Italicised lies, headlines, bold type.” But with the solo project, comes more personal subject matter and Nolan reflects more on his own actions and behaviors: “I’m consumed by what might have been again and again and again” and the very self-aware “I’m focusing my hate, but it’s hollow, unsubstantiated. / You’re an easy mark, and I just need a target right now. / I can’t face myself. I can’t honestly own up to who I am.”

Just because lyrically, the man can be a bit depressing, don’t think the live show will make you want to go home and cry into your pillow. He pours his pains into the expression of his songs and is quite pleasant and amiable in between them. He jokingly yelled at a girl to come back in the venue when he overheard her drunken friend doing the same. He even promised a dance party to the audience and delivered. After Brian Bonz and the Dot Hongs joined the Nolans for the final two numbers, they burst into a fun jam and goofy dance moves that put a fun cap on the night. I look forward to catching more of Nolan when he returns to Lawrence in December.

Remember my friend Marco at the beginning of this post? I am sure you’re wondering why I chose to tell such a lengthy tale about a friend of mine that you’ll never meet. Because I think sometimes, in our snobby land of music reviews, we automatically assume only our opinion matters and most of the time only an indie band is good, I present you Marco: a guy who likes mainstream music and couldn’t identify Ben Gibbard from a box of crayons. Now put your American Eagle wearing, Target shopping boy in the middle of the ultimate indie show and if you can get him to agree that the bands are good, then you know you have a winner. Marco made it through the show. He even smiled, clapped and bobbed along with the tunes. I’m not sure if he has fully embraced the idea of “indie” yet, but he has embraced these bands. So I ask not that you take my “pretentious views” on this show and trust in Marco. Because even if Marco can agree that this was a good show and these are good bands, then you should be able to agree to that as well.

The former singer/guitarist for Taking Back Sunday, John Nolan, left the band with Taking Back Sunday’s bassist Shaun Cooper to start a new band called Straylight Run. John Nolan then went on to start a solo project and will be releasing his fist solo album on October 27, 2009. After just looking at the cover of the album, the album caught my attention. The album cover artwork is of a paint-picture of someone jumping up in the air, barefoot, and in a calm grass clearing.

Once I found out that John Nolan was formally a part of the band Taking Back Sunday, I had a biased opinion towards him (I strongly dislike Taking Back Sunday). However, once I listened to the album all the way through, my bad thought about him vanished… for the most part. The first three tracks on the album start off nicely. But the two tracks after are not a good follow up.

The first track “The End of The Beginning” is about a one-minute long intro musical piece that sets up for the song “Til its Done To Death,” which is by far my favorite song on the album. It is a mellow song that has a catchy beat and choirs that leaves you singing along to the music.

The last few tracts are definitely worth going out and listening to. There were only two bad apples in my opinion on the album. “Here I Am” is one of the latter tracks that resembles that of the music Pink Floyd used to create.

So get to it and have your self a gander. Height is available Oct. 27.

Tracklisting:
01. Till It s Done To Death
02. I Don t Believe You
03. Screaming Into The Wind
04. It Takes A Long Time
05. Here I Am
06. Not To Let Go
07. Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In Hand
08. I Won’t Ever Be There
09. Keep Calm And Carry On

John Nolan: myspace

The coasts of the United States never seem to be at a shortage for festivals, but travel to the heart of the country and festivals are scarce. Chicago does have Lollapalooza, which is a fun festival, but very mainstream. So the addition of Monolith Festival has been a haven for the Midwest hipster to see new buzz indie bands and some classic gems in one of the most beautiful venues in the world: Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, Colorado.

The first day of the festival was a cold and rainy mess, but the bands stuck it out with smiles and were gracious to all the people who stayed the whole day. Store bought ponchos and trash bag made ones became the must have fashion accessory and one stage emcee quipped he would give a prize to anybody who could pull off the most creative, hipster rain outfit.

I wore two jackets and a poncho and wrapped my camera gear in a bag and despite only operating on an hour of sleep, I made it through the festival and loved every minute of it. Monolith fortunately has one of the best indie line-ups with few disappointments, so it was easy to lose yourself in the music and forget that you couldn’t feel your toes anymore.

Generationals // Woxy.com Stage @ 12:20 – 1 p.m.

Like I said, it was ridiculously cold out and off and on sprinkling, so heading to the indoor stages early seemed like a good plan when I arrived at Monolith Amphitheatre. Turns out it was. I started at the Woxy.com Stage, a stage that ended up having the best line-up of the day and hosting a majority of the best acts that I saw. Generationals were among those acts.

Generationals had a rock sound with folksy inclinations. The singer was a lot of the reason I liked them because he had a sort of nasal boldness to his vocal that made me think a bit of Tokyo Police Club without ever thinking that the band sounded like them. The female keyboardist balanced out his vocals, but I wasn’t as thrilled with the band when they gave her the lead vocals on a song. She was a fun support member to watch, switching from keys to keyflute (I have no idea what those mini-keyboards are that you blow air into, but that is what I’m calling keyflute.)

As I walked off from their set, I made a mental note to check out this band’s music at home. I quickly learned that I’d be making a lot of these mental notes.

Stars of Track and Field // Radius Earphones Stage @ 1:00 – 1:40 p.m.

I’ve been dying to see Stars of Track and Field since a few years ago, my local radio station, 96.5 the Buzz, played “Moons of Antarctica” on air and I went out and actually purchased their album. “With You,” my favorite from that album, was actually the last song I listened to in the car ride before the fest.

I don’t know why, but for some reason, I always figured the group had a girl in the band because of the records’ harmonies, so I was a bit surprised when three guys came out wearing tight pants and leather jackets. Despite the gray day and playing indoors, the singer had on bug-eyed sunglasses. He also adorned a scarf and their whole look reminded me of the time I saw Barcelona and their musical sound isn’t that different from each other. Perhaps they’re all friends–they are both bands from the Northwest, and maybe they do their shopping together.

Once I got over my surprise that a weird falsetto was the actual harmonizer, I got really into their set. They had a few pitchy problems, but it was still good. The new songs fit perfectly with the old and it was fun to watch the guitarist take random dips and jumps as he rocked out. Another cool thing that I discovered about Monolith watching them is that to the side of the Radius Earphones Stage, there was an artist that was painting them. I guess this was happening all day and it was fun to see a mixing of the two art genres. Stars of Track and Field just released a new album about a week ago. Go check them out.

Set List:
Movies
EOAT
Static
Bright Fire
With You
The Aviator
Arithmatik
Now You Lift
Lacuna
Lights

The Antlers // Woxy.com Stage @ 1:40 – 2:20 p.m.

The Antlers were yet another amazing discovery for me. I really hadn’t heard much about them until this past week and had no idea what to expect. What I got was the product of if the singers of Cold War Kids and Passion Pit had a baby that then the kid was raised by Fleet Foxes in some mountain cabin in the heart of the Rockies. This group had that sort of classic sound meets modernity.

The vocalist was a crooner and he would crawl up the scales at the end of the verses, hit his high note and add a beautiful, yet different vibrato touch at the end. Gorgeous. As a whole, the group had the Fleet Foxes vibe with that sort of blending and harmonizing that the Foxes do so well. Also gorgeous.

A warning though—the musical subjects are very sad–hospitals, death and cancer.

Set List:
Bear
Sylvia
Shiv
A Trophy
2
Epilogue

Lydia // Radius Earphones Stage @ 2:20 – 3 p.m.

I’ve seen these barefoot indie pop musicians multiple times and they always give warm fuzzies. Piano, pleasing guitars and a perfectly happy band that never stops smiling kind of does that for you. They’re like Straylight Run, but happier.

These United States // Woxy.com Stage @ 3 – 3:40 p.m.

I think this band might win for favorite new artist of the day. PopWreckoning recently raved about them in an album review, and now we continue the raving by declaring them fucking amazing live. It was like being at a barn party with your closest friends gathered and just as you hit the tipsy point, somebody whips out an acoustic guitar and just starts jamming. It’s the kind of party where you love your friends and the music and are having such a good time that you think you could be eternally happy holding your beer and listening to your friends play forever.

These United States made every person in the room feel like they were all close friends at a party such as that. Their crowd interactions made it seem like if you did have a request, they would have tried to fulfill it. In fact they tried to do something like that. A person in the audience asked where they were from and after responding, they want on to say that they had a question box on the side of the stage because nothing was as important as responding to what the people want. And as for the crowd, whether they knew the bands very, very, very new music, they would still try to sing along.

When I left the room, I was still singing, “Get yourself home, boy, get yourself home.” The little jamboree at the packed Woxy.com Stage was hands down one of the best sets of the festival and maybe one of the best sets that I’ve seen in my life.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros // Southern Comfort Presents Stage @ 3 – 3:30 p.m.

I only caught a bit of this group, but it was exactly like the Letterman performance. Smiliing hippies dancing to the feel good “Kumbayah” like music that a bajillion musicians on stage were performing. It was good, but it is hard to give a complete review of a band when you only caught a song and a half.

Frightened Rabbits // Esurance Music Stage @ 3:30 – 4:15 p.m.

This Scottish act was the first of three that I would see at the festival and the Scottish acts came to the festival to show the American audience who was boss.

Accents made it difficult to really follow lyrics, but it didn’t matter. It sounded great and the people loved it. Some fans got really, really into it:

Pains of Being Pure at Heart // Southern Comfort Presents Stage @ 4 – 4:45 p.m.

Pains of Being Pure at Heart was a band that I was really excited and really nervous to see. I loved their self-titled debut, but one of the critics I respect in Omaha gave them a mixed review about two days before this festival. He basically said something along the lines of PoBPaH as one of those groups that has a great band, but a singer who can’t sing.

After seeing them for myself, I have no idea what he was talking about. The singing was perfectly fine and a nice cheery spot in the extra dismal weather. Kip, the singer, even quipped, “Today we’re the Rains of Being Pure at Heart.”

I think the band’s genuine glee at playing for Monolith made the set just that much better. It would have been easy to be wallow in misery that I could see my breath,  couldn’t feel my extremities and was now at risk for pneumonia, but then I would look up and see Pains’ smiles and I’d smile too and forget the cold and get lost in their noise pop.

OK Go // Esurance Music Stage @ 4:45 -5:45 p.m.

You know them for their dance moves whether in front of funky wallpaper, on treadmills or in a backyard, but OK Go is so much more than that. They are a talented band that cares about their fans and really understand the art of performance.

One member walked out ahead of the group and struck out a large clear sideways bass drum. He was the herald to singer Damian Kulash’s entrance. It was an attention grabbing opening.

The band proceeded into a set filled with all their well-known songs and some brand new ones. There was lots of confetti and cute little anecdotes.

What I liked the most about OK Go was that the band really was all about the people. Red Rocks is an epic amphitheatre, but there is a big gap between the main stage and the front row of the audience. Kulash bridged that gap and carried his mike stand to the heart of the audience for a love song.

“Denver, are you lovers?” Kulash asked. To which the crowd cheered a yes. “Good. Our next one is a love song. We’re going to give it the 60s treatment and wave…or you got lighters? Those allowed here? Hold up you cell phones and let them get fucked up in the rain.”

They had a playful edge about them that just made it impossible to not like every moment of the set.

“This next one is a new song, but I need your help singing. This is in C er G no D…Pitch perfect. We’re pitch perfect.” said Kulash. “You’ll sing, ‘Let it go, this too shall pass.” The audience had a miserable attempt at repeating it back. “That was a bit fast, but we’ll give it a try.”

Kulash does not have a future in teaching because that was the worst attempt at giving directions I have ever seen. When the song finally got to that part, it sounded nothing like what he sang in the practice run, resulting in a kind of pub like singalong on the audience’s end. Fortunately I think Kulash has a secure future in music so he won’t have to toy with the idea of education as an alternate career.

Set List:
Shooting
Get Over It
Million Ways
White Knux
I Want You
Oh No
BFK
Don’t Ask
HIGA
Last Leaf
Skyscrapers
Disaster
TTSP
Good Idea
Invice
DWYW

The Walkmen // Southern Comfort Presents Stage @ 5:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

I couldn’t bring myself to leave OK Go and I was dreading trekking up the stairs again, so I was strongly contemplating skipping the Walkmen to wait to  see M. Ward, but others at the site have said this act was the shit, so I embraced more soreness to add to my calves and jogged up to see the Walkmen. It was good, but kind of blah. After the last few really solid and crowd-welcoming performers, it was hard to get into this set. The Walkmen’s downfall? They could sing and play well, but the performance was lacking in the entertainment value. Sorry other editors at this site. I just didn’t feel it.

M. Ward // Esurance Music Stage @ 6:15 – 7:15 p.m.

M. Ward had a similar problem to the Walkmen, except, unlike them, I felt really guilty that I found his set a little blasé. He is a fantastic guitarist and singer, but I think he would have been better off either earlier in the day or playing one of the smaller indoor stage. His act was nice because it diversified the line up a bit and I think some of the older audience members really got into it, but the younger kids had a hard time staying awake.

Ward just had a tough act to follow after OK Go’s set and like I said, his problem wasn’t that he isn’t talented. Simply poorly placed in the line up.

Set List:
Sad Sad Song
Chinese Translation
Requiem
Epistemology
Fool Says
Poor Boy
Some Lucky Night
One Life Away/Lullaby Rag (acoustic)
Poison Cup
Four Hours
Magic Trick
To Save Me
Fahey/Fisher of Men
Nobody Like You
To Go Home
Vincent
Big Boat

Beethoven

Girl Talk // Esurance Music Stage @ 7:45 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Anybody who has heard of Girl Talk knows that Girl Talk tears it up every time. My friends had never experienced Girl Talk and I had to rush off to an interview before this set, so I gave them a little tip: stay close to the front before this set and keep your eyes open. Why would I give this tip? Because Girl Talk is a DJ that likes to be surrounded by people, toilet paper and lots of confetti…sometimes blow ups and balloons, but those were missing this time around.

Anyways, my smart friends took my advice and soon noticed a line toward the side of the stage and hopped in the line. This line was to get on stage with Girl Talk and to dance your heart out. So as Girl Talk blasted his spin on modern and classic hits, my friends got to dance up close and personal on one of the most epic stages in the United States.

I got out of my interview to join the rest of the audience getting covered in the rain, toilet paper and confetti and I loved every messy minute of it. Girl Talk has to be the love of everyone…well, maybe not the security and clean-up crews, but still, you know what I mean.

Of Montreal // Southern Comfort Presents Stage @ 8:45 – 9:30 p.m.

It is weird to say this, but Of Montreal was kind of tame this time around. No guitars were given out like at Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza at the end of the set. No guest performers. No balloons. Even the costumes weren’t quite as crazy as usual. They still had the gas mask Christmas story and they had the little dance bits with the people in black.

So since I wasn’t as distracted by the other stuff that usually accompanied their set, I was actually left to focus on their music this time around. Guess what? It was still fucking amazing. Great keys, falsettos and guitars and all while every band member moved around and danced.

Set List:
Intro
Mingusings
Fashion
Seine
Cato
Forecast
Rapture
Id Engager
Faberge
Elegant Castle
Touched
Eluardian
Heimdalsgate

Rejector

Yeah Yeah Yeahs // Esurance Music Stage @ 9:30 – 11 p.m.

I want to be Karen O. This is a woman so creative that she can wear jackets more colorful than Joseph’s technicolor dreamcoat. So bold she has no problem spitting like a man. And so talented that she can be caressing the vocals to a love song one moment, “They don’t love you like I love you,” and then going into a loud yowl, “I do! I do love you!”

Karen O owns the stage and uses every square inch for her dance moves and she never tires as she hops around. Watching her, it is almost easy to forget that Yeah Yeah Yeahs is a band and there are other people on the stage. I’ve seen this band multiple times and tonight was the first time that I really watched the rest of the band. Nick Zinner has some great guitar lines, but I finally noticed him as a performer tonight. He often just stands off to the side in a too cool for school leather jacket with his lower lip out in a concentrated pout as he plays. This show he seemed to finally interact and Karen and Nick even came together in an embrace at one point.

Each song was better than the last as the band went through old and new hits. “Cheated Hearts” into “Headz Will Roll” into the normal full version of “Maps” just made for a non-stop dance party and singalong.

It was  a great way to end the night and left the crowd psyched and ready for day two of the festival.

Set List:
Runaway
Dull Life
Honey Bear
R Tung
Shame
Gold Lion
Zero
Miles Away
Skeletons
Hysteric
Soft Shock
Cheated Hearts
Headz
Maps (full)
Dates

Look for the Sunday follow-up soon!

Monolith Festival: website

The Mile After Mile Tour, sponsored by Fender, Audix, Faceless International, and The Love Alliance, kicks off on October 7th in Aurora, Illinois and follows Straylight Run across the US playing with Lydia, Anarbor, Mansions, Camera Can’t Lie, The Dangerous Summer, Moving Mountains, Brian Bonz and Dave Melillo. Ticket pre-sales begin tomorrow, Tuesday, September 15th.

John Nolan (vocals/guitar), Shaun Cooper (bass), and Will Noon (drums), take a fresh and earth conscious approach in support of their EP release “About Time.” The EP , which was originally released digitally in the Spring, now will be available on colored limited edition 12″ 45 rpm vinyl with a download card embedded with wildflower seeds that you can plant once the songs are downloaded. Pre-sale will begin sometime this month and released October 6th. You can pick up a copy when you catch the guys on the road.

Tour Dates:
Oct 07 – Doug’s Rockhouse Grill / Aurora, Il.*
Oct 08 – Triple Rock / Minneapolis*
Oct 09 – The Picador / Iowa City*
Oct 10 – Aquarium / Fargo*
Oct 12 – The Black Sheep / Colorado Springs*
Oct 13 – V2 / Salt lake City*
Oct 15 – El Corazon / Seattle*
Oct 16 – Satyricon / Portland*
Oct 18 – The Rickshaw Stop / San Francisco*
Oct 19 – The Starline / Fresno*
Oct 20 – Plea For Peace Center / Stockton, Ca.*
Oct 21 – Jerry’s Pizza / Bakersfield, Ca.*
Oct 22 – Downtown Brew / San Luis Obispo*
Oct 23 – Chain Reaction / Anaheim*
Oct 24 – The Hot Box / Phoenix*
Oct 26 – The Door / Dallas#
Oct 27 – Emo’s Alternative Lounge / Austin#
Oct 28 – The Conservatory / Oklahoma City#
Oct 29 – Revolution Music Room / Little Rock#
Nov 01 – Mixtape Cafe / Grand Rapids#
Nov 03 – Diesel / Pittsburgh^
Nov 05 – Higher Ground / Burlington^
Nov 06 – Club Hell / Providence^
Nov 07 – The Loft @ The Chance / Poughkeepsie^
Nov 08 - Studio @ Webster Hall / New York City^

* w/ Lydia, Anarbor, Camera Can’t Lie
# w/ The Dangerous Summer, Mansions, Brian Bonz, Dave Melillo
^ w/ The Dangerous Summer, Moving Mountains, Brian Bonz, Dave Melillo

Straylight Run: website | myspace |  interview with: pt 1, pt 2

After sweating our way through introductions in the brutal Kansas humidity, guitarist Joseph McCaffrey and drummer Michael Fleischmann of New York rock group Nightmare of You sat down to speak with us about the challenges of DIY-record releases in a digital era and the importance of being a touring musician even when it means struggling through 112 degree Midwest weather when your lead singer is sick.

Bethany, PopWreckoning: Let’s start with the new album that comes out in August. What are you guys going for on this album?
Joesph McCaffrey, Nightmare of You: I think it is a natural progression of the sound of the band since its conception about five years ago. It is along the same lines of our releases, but probably more than ever it sounds like our band as opposed to a young band who is wearing its influences on its sleeves. It is more of a comfortable sound that is a part of all of us.

PW: This is your [Michael Fleischmann] first album with Nightmare of You, is that right?
Michael Fleischmann: Yep.
PW: What was that process like getting to working with them on an album finally?
MF: It was a very collaborative effort. It was really easygoing. We took our time with it. We went to the studio and we knew what we wanted to do. We knew exactly what we wanted, so we went for it and we got it.

PW: Why did the album get pushed back to August?
JM: Very simple answer. We ended up working with a distributor known as R-E-D, Red, through Sony, and they do street dates and to meet their deadlines with one-sheets and blah blah blah blah blah, a lot of boring business stuff, long story short, that date was the one most readily available for us through that distributor.
Joshua, PopWreckoning: Do you know if you’re working with Lauren or Allison?
MF: I’m going to say Allison.
JM: I’m going to say Allison.
Joshua: That’s exciting.
MF: We’re not really sure though.
Joshua: It was more curiosity than anything.
PW: With pushing the album release date back, you guys do run into the issue where you have a completed album and then music leaks.
JM: Yeah, it already leaked. It leaked on my birthday.
MF: Happy birthday.
JM: Yeah, right? Fuck me.

PW: What are your thoughts on album leaks?
JM: It is inevitable. It is a double-edged sword. We are flattered that people want to hear our music and anxious to get their hands on it as soon as possible. That’s cool. With any bit of positive feedback we get back, we appreciate it. We just hope that people recognize that we are just legitimately very independent via our band and that we pay for our recordings ourselves. If we don’t sell albums, we’re not going to be able to make that money back and we’re not going to be able to make new albums. We’ve been a band long enough to understand where we fit in—in the music industry and the world. We don’t have any delusions of grandeur or we don’t expect to have solid gold records and crazy sold out tours around the world. We’re just trying to keep doing what we do. It is a pretty modest venture, but with that being said, every dollar that we spend making shirts and filling up our gas tank and making recordings, we work very hard for. We appreciate the people that listen to our music and we only hope that those people are in the position to keep supporting and help the band.

PW: You guys are very D-I-Y. You have your own label—the Bevonshire label. How do you think major labels are and if they even still have a role in the industry?
JM: Oh, they certainly do. The major labels are still very much alive. They might be scrambling and trying to reinvent their business model, as they should. Look at their losses. I know for a fact they’re restructuring their organizations. A band at our level, we were able to work it out. We had a game plan. What do you want to do? We want to tour and make records and play music. That’s a very basic way of looking at it. Then you can delve deeper and say, what are the plans surrounding that like for the release of the album? We want to do radio promotion and a marketing campaign. We want to hire a publicist and get distribution. You have all these things that come into play. That was a cool thing about this album’s process. We did sort of delve into all those areas like a record label would service on album with. It was a great learning experience.
MF: Yeah. Great learning experience. Learned a lot.
JM: It was very cool. It was not the first album that I ever put out, especially on my own. I’ve managed a band that has been in a major label system, we’ve been in a major label system, Mike’s old band was under the Island/Def Jam umbrella and Nightmare of You used to be under the WEA/Warner Brothers umbrella. We got to see, first hand, the roles of particular people, be it the radio promotion or the A&R or the product manager or the publicist or this and that. We got to say oh this is the stoke of this, we can do it ourselves. Ultimately it ends up with each of us wearing a few different hats and having to share responsibility. I think we’re doing a good job covering our bases this time around. Like I said, it is a learning experience. We’ve seen where we had success and where we haven’t and sometimes we nailed it. Hopefully, we’ll be in a position to keep going and make another record and do it even better next time.

PW: Is Bevonshire just Nightmare of You or do you guys…?
JM: Bevonshire Label is just Nightmare of You. I have another company right now that’s Bevonshire Management. Giant Panda Gorilla Death Squad is a band that I manage. They’re a great reggae band from Rochester.

PW: Cool. Let’s go back to the album. What’s the significance of the album title Infomaniac?
JM: Infomaniac is an idea that we kind of had along the way that just as coming from a perspective of social awareness and consciousness in that the day and age we live in and the day and age that we’re living, working, playing music and such, we grew up in a sort of technological age at the sort of advent of a new era. DVDs, internet, computers: it’s a hi-tech society where everyone is interested in consuming these gadgets and simply having them. Now things have changed, in addition to having these gadgets, people are so obsessed with using them just to absorb information. Not necessarily useful or helpful information. Just general information with all the blogs and things like twitter and this and that. I think a lot of people have become so obsessed with knowing tidbits of celebrity lives and knowing everything that is going on: what this person did, what that person did and just almost being a maniac about consuming this information that’s available from the technology that was provided by a previous age. We see this as an age of information and in this age of information, there’s the infomaniac. You’re an infomaniac.
MF: I’m an infomaniac?
JM: You are. Who is always on the website trying to figure out the next newsfeed?
MF: What? No, that’s more, no.
JM: Who is getting the next RSS?
MF: No. That’s more like Perez Hilton followers.
JM: It isn’t a very heavy thing. The album content isn’t about that per se. There are songs that hint on the topic. It was just a sort of like I said, being our own sort of social consciousness given the time and place of releasing the album.
PW: That’s a much better explanation than the only thing I found online for the word infomaniac. I googled and it came up with a Lego Island Video Game character.
JM: Haha, no. Definitely not it.
Joshua: Who did we ask a similar question to talking about the digital connection with the fans.
PW: The Used?

Joshua: Was it the Used? We asked them if in the age of the internet and given the state of the industry, if it is almost a requirement now to be on the internet and connect with your fans?
JM: No. I think that music is bigger than the internet.
MF: You have to hope that it is.
JM: I see examples of it that are reassuring. I look at a band like Wilco.
MF: Wilco is a perfect example.
JM: Here is a band who has built a career out of quality music with many albums and quality releases together and they just created from a grassroots, an organic place: a great musical career. I don’t think that they’ve ever sat on MySpace or Facebook and spent time talking to people. They probably spent 99.9% of their energy focused on the music that they make. I think it has rubbed off on people over the course of time. That is something that we admire. If we are ever lucky enough to end up in the situation that they’re in where they’ve created their own true, real, sincere, music-base then that would be really rad. There are a lot of bands who exist solely off the internet buzz and internet world.
MF: I think you have to split it.
JM: I’m not in a position to say whether it is good or bad. You have to look at it for what it is.
MF: It has helped a lot of people get to the next level, but it is like Joe said. There is true music and it is so right in front of your face.
JM: You could be a band that could have never been heard before the internet, but in this day and age you might have a chance of thousands of people hearing it and that is great. At the same time, you have an over saturation of where do I click next? So you click on that and maybe it is…it is the universe. It is the balance of the universe and we’ll never really find ourselves at the center of it, but we can always continue to try and get there.
Joshua: That was a way better answer than the Used gave.

PW: True. The Used was like, “We know how to twitter.” You know, I must admit, I first came across your band because of some demos on MySpace. So I for one lucked out clicking random links.
JM: Alright, fair enough.
MF: He can’t knock.
JM: Like I said, I’m not in a position to say it is good or bad or right and wrong. It is a bit of all of it. We can only hope that for our particular situation or music as a whole that we fall in the side of the right and not the wrong.

PW: I often feel that out here in the Midwest, I don’t have much of a choice, but to find my music online to keep up.
JM: But then we’re here and we’re from New York and we’re talking in the flesh.
PW: True.
JM: You have to respect bands that get in the van and tour because the summer in the Midwest in 2009, that’s not easy for anybody. It’s not easy for people to come out and see our shows and it is not easy for us to come out and play these shows. If you like music like we like music and he likes music, you have to respect the people that are out there completely working because it is work. We’re doing it because we love it, but not every band is out there doing it right now. A lot of bands are taking a lot of time off and thinking about things. The second you stop selling records, people might stop making music, but that’s not where it is going for us.
Joshua: We are glad you’re here because we get skipped over a lot.
MF: This is a really cool town. I had never been to Lawrence before.

PW: Yeah, I think you guys have always played downtown KC a few times.
Joshua: I’ve seen you once before in KC.
JM: I thought we played Lawrence before at a little café or coffee shop or something. Maybe not. It looks familiar and it feels familiar.
Joshua: Didn’t you say they played Mainstreet?
PW: Yeah, you played Mainstreet Café in Downtown KC.
JM: Mainstreet. Yeah.
PW: Yeah that was headlining, then the other time I remember is opening at the Uptown for A.F.I.
Joshua: I was at that show! So I have seen you.
MF: What was the other one? Mainstreet? I wasn’t around then.
JM: No.
PW: The little Christian venue.
JM: We played there and we stayed there.
MF: Oh yes!
JM: Those people were sweet.
MF: They were so nice.
JM: Creepy little den.
PW: They had just moved when you guys played there. You were one of the first shows at the new place.
JM: That’s when we were figuring out if this was Kansas City, Kansas or Kansas City, Missouri.
Joshua: And if you were there you could throw rocks to either side.
MF: Exactly.
JM: We had a good laugh.
Joshua: They have been working on remodeling that venue, still, since you’ve been there.
MF: It was interesting.
JM: They had all these couches. Three bands just crashed on all these couches.
MF: It was pretty cool.

PW: You guys did a cover of a Cheap Trick song that you had up on MySpace. Is there a plan to do anything with that?
JM: That was actually years ago. And it was really cool and we had so much fun. I’m trying to remember the basis of our doing it. Somebody approached us. It was for a movie or a compilation, and I don’t know if it ever ended up getting used, but somebody came to us and said get in the studio and record this son and we just did it. It was written really cool. We love the song and we love how it came out. Actually, I feel really horrible for not remembering the gentleman’s name from Cheap Trick. Anyways, we put that song up on our MySpace for a real short minute and this Long Island newspaper called “Newsday” wrote a piece on it and said how cool it was yadda yadda yadda. Long story short, the daughter of the guitar player heard the song and a bunch of people contacted him and contacted her and they approved. Cheap Trick gave us the seal of approval on our cover, so that felt good. Anytime that you cover a band’s song, you would hope that they would like it.

PW: Nice. I guess for a final question, I know you guys have no problems saying your thoughts on other bands on stage and kind of going off what we were talking about earlier, is there an act you are just surprised is making it in mainstream or on the radio?
JM: What radio? I haven’t heard a radio in a long time to be honest.
MF: Kanye West. If he went away, I’d be happy. I don’t like that guy.
Joshua: You and I should form a Kanye West union because everybody else does love him.
JM: I’m not going to wish ill will on anybody. I’m just going to say that we’re on tour, our album hits stores Aug. 4, and we love everybody and we’d love people to just enjoy our music and if they don’t, that’s cool too. I’m not going to bash anybody.
MF: Come on. Just a little Kanye. Maybe he’ll fight back.
JM: If you don’t like something, don’t listen to it.
PW: Is it is his music or him as a person? Like the Fray covered “Heartless” and I like that, but I’m still not the biggest Kanye fan.
MF: I don’t like his attitude. He is too cocky. Oh my, that’s a future career right there: Dog walker.
Girl with two dogs walks by.
Joshua: You’re going to be a dog walker if the music doesn’t work out?
MF: Marry her. Live in Lawrence. Get the dogs.
Joshua: You could hang out with Straylight Run. Well part of Straylight Run. John lives here.
MF: Does he really?
PW: Yeah, he’s in the venue.
JM: No he’s not. I got to go say hi to him. He’s my homeboy. I don’t even know he was here. Thanks guys.
PW: Thanks.

Nightmare of You: website | myspace | @ the Bottleneck

If you pass them on the street, Lights Resolve look just like any other group of laid back guys, but catch them at a show and you’ll see that these four guys are extraordinary–they’re legends in the making. These guys have already been praised as restoring people’s faith in music. PopWreckoning caught up with these young music gods at SXSW. Check it out:

Joshua, PopWreckoning: Last time I talked to you guys, you were prepping for the giant NY show. How did it go? We covered it, but I wasn’t personally there.
Lights Resolve: The Highline [Ballroom] show was awesome. It was like our first big step into doing something cool in the NY circuit that was worth talking about, I guess. We just had a bunch of bands on the bill that we were friends and it was a good vibe from the start. We also worked with Tattfoo that I told you about the last time. It’s a NYC artist that’s actually from Malaysia and we put something together with him and it was just a pretty magical night that over sold and it was at Highline Ballroom. It was rad.

JH: I had the greatest time in the world when I was trying to figure out how to spell Tattfoo when transcribing that interview. You guys have also been labeled as the biggest unsigned band on the East Coast.
LR: Really? By who? Must have been in Dayna’s [the band's publicist] notes. Haha.
JH: I’ve also read it in other places as well.
Bethany, PopWreckoning: Our website.
LR: Haha.
JH: No, you guys have got Billboard, AP, Prosounds, Purevolume all sorts of giant media outlets backing you. How has that helped pushing you forward?
LR: I think just more and more people finding out about the band through different means. Everybody looks in a different place, as we all know, now with the internet. People check out their favorite things and they find us there. Then we see them at a show or we see them online, talk to them on whatever social networking site we find them on and we make a point to talk to every single person. I think that really helps.

BS: You guys just finished recording an EP?
LR: Yeah, But I think that maybe we might wait a little bit because we went down to Florida for just a little bit before we came here to Austin. And we’re like, “Let’s set up in a house and just write,” and we did for like five or six days and came up with some really cool stuff.
BS: So you looking at just a completely different direction for the EP or making it an album?
LR: Not necessarily. I think we are working toward an album. We’ll see what happens. Everything is kind of up in the air right now. A lot of things shaping up and great stuff is happening. Only good stuff.

JH: Tell me a little bit about this Time Warner Cable special.
LR: For Time Warner Cable, they did a feature on us when we played Webster Hall, which is another amazing show in NYC. It was a venue that I never thought we’d be able to play, but we ended up playing there and it was cool. It was for an MTV2 thing also. It was Time Warner Cable and MTV2 and we ended up getting the chance to play with Dashboard Confessional, which was a cool thing. We ended up playing there and then we played at the Prudential Center in New Jersey for 18,000 people. So it was quite an experience that we would never have and won’t have for a long time.
The coolest part of it was that they did a reaction. It was them, Chris Carrabba, a couple of guys from Panic [at the Disco], and they sat there and they critiqued our set-our three songs. It was pretty unbelievable to hear this guy who is so epic in the industry, sit there and tell us that he was blown away by our songs. It was definitely an honor.
Chris Carrabba, whether you like his music or not, great guy who was just like, “You guys sound like the Secret Machines and Muse and everything I like about them, but you guys are different. You guys have your own thing going on.” I took that as a huge compliment because most people respect both of those bands and he was all about it. He said we renewed his faith in music right now.
JH: That’s a huge compliment.
LR: Yeah. That’s a huge compliment and I see his point because there’s not a lot of great stuff coming out right now, at least that I have found, and it gave us hope and an artist always needs that little bit of drive to keep it going. It was cool.

JH: I got to listen to your album when I did the other interview, but I never got to see you guys live until the other night at the PureVolume party and I was blown away by the extreme, well, I really like your album, but the energy in your live show is so much different than the energy that comes out in the album.
LR: You’re talking about PureVolume?
BS: Yeah.
LR: Haha, that was not our energy. We had just driven 24 hours straight and we were just zonked out of our minds.
JH: So I was just ridiculously impressed with a bad show?
LR: That’s amazing to me. We had a great show, well if you thought the energy was great at that show, last night was a great show. Yeah, last night was amazing. We certainly appreciate that, thank you. That’s what we strive for. We strive for giving as much as we can possibly give until we’re falling on our faces. To be honest with you, that’s what the people deserve.

BS: You guys do a lot of stuff in NY and you’re doing all these big showcases there, what are you doing to get your name out to the rest of the country?
LR: We have been touring since 2006 when we started the band. We did two independent cross country tours where we headed all the way out to California and back and then we did a tour with the Used. Which was awesome, but it was also like an arena tour, so that was a different experience for sure. After that we did another tour with a band called Elevation.

BS: Used fans are kind of crazy, how do they compare to your guys’ fans?
LR: I’d venture to say that we don’t sound anything like the Used, but the fans really, really appreciated it. We were the first band, the opening band out of I think five bands. There were Street Drum Corps, Army of Me, Straylight Run were the other openers and we were on first. Yeah, Straylight Run are good friends of ours. Will [Noon] actually just emailed me, but yeah, we were on first.
Usually the bands that go on first you’re like “eeh,” but the kids really enjoyed it and we had some great experiences. I got to sing on stage with them and their guitar player played a song with us a bunch of nights and it seemed like their fans dug it, which is a great experience.

BS: They’re here at South By-you going to check them out?
LR: Absolutely. Actually, our buddies in the Urgency whom our manager also manages, they’re opening the show here. So we have two reasons to go. They’re another really good band signed. Good, good friends of ours.

BS: Anybody else you’re looking forward to checking out while you are here?
LR: We don’t have any time. That’s the problem. We’re busy the whole time we’re here. We’re talking to you guys.
JH: Dayna’s got you guys running in circles.

LR: I would have liked to have seen my friends from Head Automatica play.
JH: I didn’t know that.
LR: Yeah, they’re playing. -That’s what Brad said. Brad said they were playing. We’re going to try and catch the Cold War Kids tonight. I think it is at 7, where is that show?
JH: Give us a second and we can find. You have the itinerary of every band ever.
BS: I don’t have the itinerary of every band ever.

LR: I don’t even know, we were talking about this before, what’s the “it” band to see this year? Like last year it was Vampire Weekend.
JH: The Decemberists show was a really big deal because they played that album beginning to end.
BS: CWK are at Lakeshore Auditorium Stage.
LR: What about like new bands because the Decemberists have been around?
JH: There was a huge buzz surrounding the Manchester Orchestra show.
LR: Yeah, but they were around, too.
JH: Hm. So you want even littler than that. I don’t know.
LR: How was that, by the way?
JH: It was good. Very good.
BS: Yeah, and he had seen them before.
JH: And I thought they were awful before, but last night they were amazing.

BS: There are a lot of rumors of bands to must see. Like Metallica’s supposed to play. And Kanye’s rumored to be playing with somebody.
LR: What? No way. But we want little or local.
JH: Little. Kevin’s worth seeing. Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band.
LR: Give us new. Like really fresh. He’s already out there, too.
BS: I would say to check out the Mae Shi, but they’ve been around, too.
JH: I forget you guys are from the coast, so what is brand new to us has been around for you guys for awhile.
BS: I know the Mae Shi have been around for awhile, but they’re live show is amazing.
LR: Who?
BS: The Mae Shi. I was watching these guys and all of sudden the sound was coming from behind me and I thought the speakers were off, but I turn around and I realized the guitarist was singing and playing guitar and pushing his way through a packed room and holding it above him and playing. And I was like, shit he is right there in the crowd.
LR: Whoa.
BS: They’re playing like 100 times here and I think you’d enjoy their show based off their energy.
LR: Cool.
JH: Yeah, that’d be a good time. You should check out the Republic Tigers. They’re at the PureVolume House.
LR: Republic Tigers?
BS: Yeah, they’re from KC.
JH: They’re from KC, but I think they’re going to take over the world.
LR: OK. That’s good.
JH: You guys probably already know Dead Confederate.
BS: Josh is also a big fan of a lot of the female artists.
LR: Lydia. Have you guys heard of Lydia? We played with them last night.
JH: You got to cover them right?
BS: Yeah, I’ve covered them a couple of times.
LR: We actually didn’t get to see them because we were warming up. They any good?
BS: Yeah, they are. I was worried they’d have to cancel their shows because Leighton was just sick.
JH: OK. Tiny bands from Austin-great energy, great Motion City Soundtrack everywhere energy-check out Driver F.
LR: Somebody else told us to check out Driver F. They guy who interviewed us yesterday.
JH: We’ve adopted them and taken them under our wings. I think they’re the best band in Austin.
LR: Cool.
BS: Yeah, they have almost a full brass section.
LR: Really? For a second I thought you said a full breast.
JH: That too. I can’t really think of more.
BS: Yeah. I have a lot of bigger names on my list that I’d like to see, I guess.
JH: I am kind of addicted to the fact that the entire Hotel Café is here.
BS: And I have almost everyone from Omaha.
JH: I would say your obscure band from Austin to check out is Driver F and they play at 3 pm at the Tiniest Bar.
LR: That’s where we’re playing tomorrow. 9pm. We’ll be playing there.
JH: They’re unreal energy wise. Like mics swinging. They do this amazing thing where the brass section will be playing the brass and the two guys will be on the moogs and then the lead singer will have to go run over to sing one of the brass will run over to the moogs and take over on those parts.
LR: Really?
JH: Yeah. It’s amazing. We through a showcase with them and they just stole the show. It was very cool.
LR: Well, we’ll absolutely check that out.

JH: Well, we will let you guys get back to your other things. We said this would be seven minutes and it was 14.
LR: Haha. Enjoy your day. Thanks for having us.
JH: I look forward to seeing you again not that you’ve told us that was bad show. I’ll catch you tomorrow.

Lights Resolve: website | myspace

The Waiting Room in Omaha, Nebraska is a strange venue. It less of a venue than it is a bar that thought if they knocked out part of wall and tacked on another room, it could be a good place for concerts. Consequentially, there is an awkward division of the room that causes for even stranger crowds. So on this particular night, a person walking in during the opening sets would have no idea that a show was even happening as the crack of cue ball over at the pool table and the chatter by the bar seemed to drown out any signs of a concert. I was dismayed at the inattention Joshua James and then Black Gold received. At least there was a small cluster of kids seated on the floor that appreciated the fact music was happening that night. As Black Gold put tons of energy into a set that so many seemed to miss, I began to get nervous about how headliners Lydia would be received.

I shouldn’t have doubted that this Arizona group could handle a tough crowd. At long last, people got off their bar stools and came up to gather around the stage, moving as a flock to empty the bar half of the Waiting Room and to finally fill in the venue portion. Now the real test would be to see if Lydia could keep this new-found audience’s attention.

The barefooted group stepped up to the challenge and delivered an entertaining set that surprised me with how energetic and danceable their laid back piano rock could really be. The previously unenthusiastic audience kept up with both old and new songs, but especially got into “I Woke Up Near the Sea”, a song for which Lydia just released a video. Pleased with the crowd’s reaction, lead singer Leighton Antelman would flash a wide, charming smile and constantly thank the audience. The band’s down to earth attitude only endeared them to the crowd even more.

For those missing the days when Michelle [Nolan] DaRosa added her warm vocal harmonies to her brother John’s in Straylight Run, Lydia may just be a saving grace. Keyboardist Mindy White is the perfect compliment to Antelman and my only complaint of this show is that the microphone volumes needed to be adjusted to stop the sweet, gentle vocals from being drowned out in the wake of the more powerful drums.

Set List:
Hospital
Sea
Twice Now
Fine Evening
Blood
Stay Awake
All I See
Jam – Steve/a
Taste
1 More Day
Jam
Interlude
Pineapple
Jam
Smile
Fate

Lydia: website | myspace