No Relief in Silhouettes

Having to go back to work after a holiday weekend is never fun. It’s hard to get moving and get back into it, but when you start your week with a surprisingly amazing Sunday night show, it makes it a wee bit easier. Okay, I feel like saying that Sunday’s show at the 7th Street Entry was “surprisingly” good is a bit harsh. It’s not that I thought it would be a bad show; it’s more that I had zero expectations and ended up being completely blown away by both of the acts I got to experience.

First up was the local band Mayfly Moon. A new name to me, this band took the stage sans a drum kit. I was a bit surprised and instantly got a sour taste in my mouth. Honestly, I was tired (when am I not?), and an acoustic set just wouldn’t do it for me. At least, that’s what I thought. Before jumping into their thirty-minute set, the band explained that they never do acoustic shows. In fact, one of the members had literally bought the acoustic guitar in his hands that day, and this was all just kind of a fluke that they were playing acoustically. They went on to explain that there just wasn’t room on the stage for their gear on top of that of the headlining act, but instead of getting down about it or even just giving up the show completely, this young band accepted the challenge and were ready to give the audience a true acoustic treat.

Mayfly Moon’s sound was captivating even though it was acoustic, which is not typically my thing. It had a very chill indie-pop aura to it but there were moments with an almost pop-punk vintage would peek through here and there. I loved how this band could give the more hollow sound such a sense of life, whether through the layers of guitars or the heartfelt vocals. Truthfully, had I not heard the band talk about how them playing acoustic was a fluke in a way, I would have believed that this is just how this band performs because it felt so well put together and so perfectly rehearsed (other than a few parts where the band didn’t seem to know how to end a certain track in the acoustic style that it was being performed which led to hearty laughs throughout the well-attended-for-a-Sunday show). That being said, knowing that I only saw the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this band really intrigues me. Mayfly Moon will be returning to the intimate 7th Street Entry stage on January 12th to release their debut album, ‘Let Me Be.’ You had better believe I will be there, and I truly hope you consider that your show for the day when it comes to that point.

Sunday night’s show was short. It was just two bands and lasted only two-ish hours. Typically, I would have hated that as just over two hours of music is never enough for me, but with what headlining act Lo Moon gave me with their time on stage, it was more than enough, and I left the show feeling slightly more exhausted than I had arrived yet so full of life and love at the same time.

Lo Moon is an indie rock band from Los Angeles. They dropped their self-titled debut album back in February 2018 and have released two other full-lengths since then, including ‘I Wish You Way More Than Luck’, which came out this April. I’ll be honest: I know that Lo Moon is far from a household name. Heck, I had never heard of them before this show and had honestly shown up just because I needed a show after a weekend with my boyfriend’s kids in the house and because of the chaos that comes with that, mixed with the holiday. That being said, I instantly fell in love with this group and can say, with certainty, that it is just a matter of time before they do become a household name.

The biggest thing that hooked me about Lo Moon was the sheer power they brought to each song. I loved the way that they would start many of their tracks with an almost meditative sense of ambiance, but as the song grew, so did the sound, and it would end up being one of the most powerful things I had ever heard. It was a gradual growth throughout the songs, and I always knew it was coming, yet the swells would continue to hit me like a crashing wave every song they played. It was epic, cinematic, perfect. It evoked such a sense of raw emotion from me in a way that I haven’t experienced in quite some time. Like I said, this band had me hooked.

I wish I had more to say about Lo Moon, but I was just so “surprised” (yup, there’s that word again) by how much this band was making me feel. I’ve felt like this before, but it’s always been at shows from bands that have meant so much to me for so many years. To feel that same thing from a band I knew nothing about and had never heard before should say all you need to know about Lo Moon.