Girl at the Rock Shows

I know it was rainy, cold, and downright miserable outside on Monday night, but those things are not an excuse to skip out on supporting local music and venues. The fact that Monday night’s show at Zhora Darling wasn’t super packed wasn’t surprising to me, but it broke my heart. I was treated to four bands that played their hearts out, and the fact that it was only me and a handful of other people who were there to see it really broke my heart.

Opening up the show was the local trio Stay At Home Astronaut. My introduction to this band was this past April when I caught them at the 7th Street Entry. Although I enjoyed their set, I felt like I wasn’t caught by it that night. I was caught by their performance on Monday night. I’m not sure if I was just in a different kind of mood or what, but I instantly fell head over heels for this band’s sound. It’s very At The Drive In but with an almost more math influence behind it. Their sound is like if At The Drive In had a love child with Tool but was raised on The Dear Hunter and it’s perfect and original. What really sells their unique song is the playfulness with which the band presents it. Although I felt that they came off as well put together and rehearsed, there was still this innocence and playfulness behind their songs that told me that, although a fantastic band, this trio doesn’t take themselves too seriously, and that just added to the charm, of Stay at Home Astronaut for me.

Taking the award for the longest band name of the night was Baltic Avenue Neighborhood Watch. Another trio, this group, brought more of a straight-up punk sound that was only highlighted by their amazing cover of a Rancid song. The way that the band went from that cover to a very Social Distortion feeling track was all I needed to hear to fall in love. Even with their set being plagued by guitar issues, Baltic Avenue Neighborhood Watch forged ahead and gave the few people at the show one of the best just classic punk sets I’ve seen locally in a hot minute. I had to giggle a bit when they closed out their set with their song, “Zero Star Review.” Although I know it’s a punk mentality kind of thing, this band is getting far from a zero star review from me. Sure, there were some hiccups and some sloppiness, but, hey, that’s punk rock, and just like the playfulness of Stay At Home Astronaut added to the charm of that band, the raw punk energy that was somehow approachable and far from aggressive yet oh so perfect is what added a sense of charm to this set.

Do you ever hear or see a band and instantly wonder how much of one other band they were listening to come up with their sound? I mean, a band that feels original and is clearly original, but their sound reminds you so strongly of another act? That’s what happened as soon as Yuhh started playing on Monday night. AJJ (formerly known as Andrew Jackson Jihad) is a folk punk band. Yuhh is far from folk punk, yet that was all I could think about as they powered through their set. Okay, saying that Yuhh’s sound is far from folk punk isn’t fair. There was a story-telling aspect to the vocals that does lean into the folk punk vibe of things, but the instrumentation that leaned quite a bit heavier than that had me thinking that this band is basically if AJJ had grown up on hardcore and metal rather than folk. It was an excellent blend, and I loved how their song felt both familiar and entirely fresh to me. Although I didn’t find a thrill in their stage presence (it wasn’t bad; there just wasn’t anything to write home about when it came to that), I did find a thrill in their sound, and I can’t wait to catch this band again soon.

Closing out the night was Unattractive Giant Monster. I honestly don’t know what to say about this band other than, please refer to my Instagram. If you don’t have Instagram, please know that I have a new favorite local band (sorry Unstable Shapes!). I don’t really mean it, but I also do absolutely mean it. I love all of the local bands I see like I love all of my cats. I love them all equally but lean towards some more than others, and I am absolutely doing a hard lean into Unattractive Giant Monster after their set on Monday night.

Although the crowd was lighter than light, this band gave me everything they had. It was fun, it was quirky, it was original, it was loud, it was lively, it was fiery– long story short, it was perfect. Sonically, this band dabbles in a bit of everything from punk to metal and indie to pop. They don’t overthink their sound. Rather than trying to be contained in just one box, I feel like this band loves to have each foot in a different one, one arm in a barrel and the other arm in a birdhouse. What I’m trying to say is that no matter how I try to explain their sound to you, it won’t make sense, so just do yourself a favor and give them a listen. The same can be said for their live performance. It was all over the place, from dancing that you couldn’t help but giggle about to a Garfield the Cat phone that was used to create a super cool vocal effect. I felt like my eyes were glued to the stage, and I couldn’t blink because I was surely going to miss a move or something quirky that just added to the magic of their set. Honestly, I wish I could get into specifics about this band and their performance at Zhora Darling, but the truth is, I was lost in all of the right ways. Although I find joy in every live concert I attend, something about Unattractive Giant Monster’s set had me feeling so much more than that. I felt the fun they were having and the passion they were releasing down to my bones, and it changed my mood from sleepy and tired to wholly obsessed and entirely in love.

Monday night was not lovely outside as far as the weather was concerned but what was lovely was my time spent in Zhora Darling supporting local music, a local venue and everything that comes with that. I know that it’s hard to peel yourself off the couch some nights and that sometimes the weather makes it even worse but, come on people, there was an amazing show happening on Monday night and ya’ll missed it. What are you even doing?!

Line Up:

Stay At Home Astronaut

Baltic Avenue Neighborhood Watch

Yuhh

Unattractive Giant Monster

Venue: Zhora Darling

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 33

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 3 out of 10

Broken Bones- None Spotted

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

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

Stay At Home Astronaut – 1

Baltic Avenue Neighborhood Watch – 0

Yuhh – 0

Unattractive Giant Monster – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 9.8 out of 10

Show on Deck — Amigo The Devil / TK & The Holy Know-Nothings / Rattlesnake Milk

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