Girl at the Rock Shows

Although I recently saw two of the three bands performing on Thursday night just a couple of weeks ago, I was excited. I needed a show after the hectic day I had had at my day job and felt the first sense of relief of the day the second I walked into the venue. On top of that, although I may have seen two of the bands before, there was one band I had never heard of before, and I was stoked to see what they were all about.

I’ve quickly fallen head over heels for local act Sunken Planes, so I was super excited to see them kick the show off. Sunken Planes’ sound is very 90s-inspired. It feels like Soul Asylum but comes with an extra edge. This band knows how to pack a punch when it comes to their tracks. Every song washed over me like a wave of emotion, even though, at the end of the day, I wouldn’t call their overall vibe super emotional. There’s just something so powerful yet beautifully understated about Sunken Planes’ sound that was at the forefront of their set on Thursday night. When I saw this band a couple of weeks ago at Zhora Darling, I talked about how there was nothing super epic or even exciting about their set but how it was still perfect. Although those words reign true regarding their performance on Thursday night, there was a bit more of a spark that shined through their set. This made them the perfect opening act for the three-band bill but also an opening act that was hard to say goodbye to once their time on the intimate stage was up.

Velahsa invited me to this show. Whenever a band invites me out, I feel this pressure to praise them. Don’t worry; if a band sucks, I’ll be the first one to tell you, but thankfully, that’s not the case when it comes to this pop-punk-leaning garage-rock band. They had me hooked instantly with a sound that felt very Weezer but with a bit more grit and dirt behind it. My first assumption when it came to this group was that they don’t take themselves that seriously. I came to that assumption based on the Hello Kitty guitar that was set up on the side of the stage and the small felt mustache that vocalist Bryan Scott Miller had put on just before going into their set. I was right, and this band absolutely does not take themselves seriously, but it worked for them, and even with the laughable moments and things that happened throughout their set, there was no denying that this is a heck of a band.

I wish I could say that their set was captivating, but the band lost me when Bryan Scott Miller took over the stage with a guitar and harmonica. An ode to Bob Dylan, I appreciated the depth that the two acoustic songs he performed brought to the repertoire of Velahsa, but I just felt that it kind of killed the night’s mood. Have no fear, though; the band was quick to win me over with a Kinks cover and the playing of that Hello Kitty guitar (I don’t know if this was the band trying to butter me up and play on my insane love for the character– I even have a giant tattoo of her on my arm– but it worked). I feel like Thursday night was a great introduction to Velahsa and that they definitely got my attention, but I also feel like I only got to experience the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this band, and I can’t wait for more opportunities to really get to know this band a bit better.

The last time I saw Modern Wildlife was actually at that aforementioned Zhora Darling show with Sunken Planes. That was another performance that, although I loved the music, felt a little lackluster when it came to the performance. Maybe I was just in a weird mood that night, or perhaps it wasn’t the right setting for either of these bands because, as I look back on Thursday night at Cloudland, I can’t help but talk about how strong and powerful Modern Wildlife’s set hit me. For me, it was mainly in the vocals. Whoever is writing the lyrics for Modern Wildlife needs to stop getting in my head. They are deep and dark and served with a side dish of cynicism, but when placed over the post-hardcore leaning indie-rock instrumentation of this band, you are left with songs that will make you want to dance while silently crying on the inside.

I wish I had more to say about the show on Thursday night because it was amazing but, truthfully, it was one of those shows that, although it hit me hard, it was just a show without anything super exciting or spectacular (or than talent) happening. I also wanted to leave some room to bring up a conversation I had with Bryan Scott Miller of Velahsa.

Bryan introduced himself before the night started and instantly started giving me props for doing this night after night. Although I appreciated it, it felt a bit strange because I don’t feel like I’m doing the Lord’s work or anything here; I’m just trying to stay sane in a world that is constantly trying to be as insane as possible. The conversation continued, and he brought up how he used to invite his co-workers to his shows but eventually figured out they would never come out. These people are the same people who would then turn around and complain about how there’s no live music happening these days. This left me stunned and heartbroken, but it’s a complaint I hear a lot. I’m done fighting these people, but the truth is, if you want live music, it’s out there. It may not be the biggest name on the charts, heck, it may even be a band without social media *gasp*, but there is live music out there that is yours for the taking and enjoyment. Stop hunkering down every night. Stop thinking that a weeknight is made for just plopping down on the couch and doing nothing. Every night is made for live music, and venues like Cloudland provide that. You may not know what you’re going to get, but after doing this for nearly ten years, I can promise you that you will have a fantastic time and maybe even find a band that is better than that crap on the charts.

Line Up:

Sunken Planes

Velahsa

Modern Wildlife

Venue: Cloudland

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 42

Crowd Surfers- None

Stage Divers- None

Dance-ability- 0 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- 0

Broken Bones- None Noticed

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)-

Sunken Planes – 1

Velahsa – 0

Modern Wildlife – 1

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8 out of 10

Show on Deck — Sincere Engineer / Mary Jam / Tightwire

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