Girl at the Rock Shows

We are only two shows into my binge for the week but I think that Wednesday night’s choice is going to take the cake or the week. From the people I was surrounded by to the music and energy flowing off the stage at The 7th Street Entry– it was just one of those picture perfect evenings that I wish I could experience night after night after night.

Butter Boys is a name I have been seeing a lot lately but Wednesday was my first chance to actually see the band behind the name. I honestly can’t tell you why I’ve been seeing their name so much but I feel like the hype has been real about this band and, as soon as I saw the butterfly clips in the vocalist’s hair and her fuzzy pink jacket, I let myself fall into the hype. The personality and energy of this band took over the intimate room before they even started playing but it was their music that had intrigued. It’s a little grunge inspired, pop-punk infused, and, well, I honestly can’t pinpoint the other elements I heard because it was truly all over the place. Although the phrase “like a cup of coffee and lullaby all wrapped up into one” wasn’t said on stage to describe the music, I feel like that’s as close to a description as I can get.

There was a song about Bethany from The Real Housewives of New York, a song that sounded very reminiscent of “Institutionalized” by Suicidal Tendencies and a lot of mention of TGI Fridays which quickly shifted to a plea to be sponsored by Red Lobster. When I say this set was all over the place, I mean it, but it all wrapped up with a super fun cover of “You Only Live Once” from The Strokes and, in the end, felt like a super cohesive set that I definitely wanted more of. Butter Boys are taking a quick break to focus on writing some new songs so I’m bummed that I won’t be able to experience them again soon but I am so excited to see what this band comes up with and will absolutely be there for their triumphant return after the break.

I knew what was going to happen next as Timisarocker took the stage but that doesn’t mean it didn’t leave me absolutely stunned. I’ve known Tim for years and have seen Timisarocker a few times but it’s not enough when it comes to this band. They are one of those acts that I swear I could watch night after night and not get bored with it. Tim and the rest of the band were not in rare form on Wednesday night– they were solid like they always are– but I can understand the shock and awe if Wednesday night was your first time seeing this band. The amount of energy and power that these kids bring to a stage is undeniable. It’s the kind of set where you don’t even want to blink for fear of missing something.

Musically, Timisarocker, like Butter Boys, is a bit all over the place but, regardless of how you want to describe the music, you will most certainly be referencing Tim’s vocals. His voice is other-worldly in all the right ways. From the deepest of lows to the highest of highs, there’s a professional smoothness to his vocals but it seems like it all comes naturally to him. The best showcase of his vocal strength was during the super fun and flawless cover of Bonnie Tyler’s “I Need A Hero” but, really, they shined throughout the quick set. All that being said, you can’t ignore the band here, either. They truly add something both musically (well, duh) and energy-wise. I loved watching the way all four of the members interacted with each other and clearly fed off of each other’s energy. All in all, it was a perfect set and although everyone who performed on Wednesday night was great, Timisarocker gave one of those “wouldn’t want to follow” sets that ultimately stole the show.

Although following Timisarocker is a tough job, Goodbye Mordecai gave it their best and ended up giving the packed audience a super solid performance. I had honestly never heard of this band before and was a bit surprised to see the familiar face of Tim Kingstrom (Space Monkey Mafia) behind the guitar as the band set up. Knowing Tim and what he’s into, I knew this could only mean one thing– It’s ska time! I was right, Goodbye Mordecai’s sound is a perfect nostalgic-fueled ska vibe with punk tendencies. Their set was electric regardless of the configuration that was on stage. The set started as just a four piece band but, after a few songs, a second vocalist was brought up on stage and then, after a few more, a trombone player was brought up and Tim switched from guitar to sax. Out of all of the modes of Goodbye Mordecai we got within their quick set on Wednesday night, the one with the horns was my favorite. I just felt like the horn playing really gave this band the edge that was needed to even attempt to follow Timisarocker (well, either that or I’m just always a sucker for horns).

Closing out the Wednesday night show was birdhole. As soon as this band took the stage, I couldn’t help but ask myself why I’ve been sleeping on them for so long. They wasted no time giving the audience their classic pop-punk sound that was full of energy, life, and, most importantly, passion. Literally, the first note I took about this band was “where have you been all my life” and I mean that. Wednesday night was a celebration of birdhole’s brand new EP ‘No Greater Meaning’. They played some songs off of that along with some of their older tracks but, with every track that passed, I felt more and more disappointed in myself for not checking this band out sooner.

Although birdhole was musically right up my alley, it was the lyrics and the moments when the vocalist addressed the crowd that made their set truly stand out to me. There was something so vulnerable about everything this band did but there were only a few moments throughout the set that it came off as heavy. I truly don’t know how the band pulled that off. If you dig into their music, you will find some of the deepest, darkest, heart-on-your-sleeve styled lyrics and although those could be heard loud and clear on Wednesday night, the night felt more like a party than a down-in-the-dumps kind of night. I don’t think I’ll ever understand how this band did that but who am I to question it. All in all, it was an absolutely amazing set and I will be spending the rest of my day apologizing to the local music higher beings for sleeping on birdhole for so long.

Line Up:

Butter Boys

Timisarocker

Goodbye Mordecai

birdhole

Venue: 7th Street Entry

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 23

Crowd Surfers- None

Stage Divers- None

Mosh-ability- 2 out of 10

Sausage-Fest Meter- 5 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $3– My drink was too full

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Randomly Shirtless Men – 0

Passed Out Kids- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – None Spotted

How Irritated I Was With The Audience – 0 out of 10

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Butter Boys – 0

Timisarocker – 2

Goodbye Mordecai – 0

birdhole – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score- 9.4 out of 10

Show on Deck — Buffalo Nichols / Like Callen

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