Girl at the Rock Shows

I ran into a fellow concert addict as I was walking into the 7th Street Entry on Wednesday night. She asked what show I was going to. I pointed behind me and asked her where she was off to. She pointed just across the block to The Target Center. She asked how I picked what I was going to, and I didn’t have an answer. It would have been awesome to be at The Target Center on Wednesday night to see the absolute force that is Florence + The Machine. It also would have been amazing to be just a couple of blocks away at the State Theatre to see the absolutely gorgeous Raye. There were choices, and we both had made our own, but I think, as we said goodbye and had fun with each other, we wondered what kind of night each of us was going to have. Did we make the right decision? Although I’m still waiting for a full report from her on how undoubtedly captivating Florence + The Machine was, I think I made the right choice because there was such a strong sense of love and fun that was radiating throughout the 7th Street Entry on Wednesday.

Opening act Summerbruise started as a songwriting outlet for Mike Newman, but it quickly turned into more. I love the fact that you could feel that throughout their quick opening set. You got the vulnerability and care that typically only comes with a singer-songwriter kind of performance, but you also have a larger-than-life sound with the addition of the band behind Mike. All of these things came together to form a super fun yet super exposed feeling set. Summerbruise calls their sound “fake emo,” which does make sense, but I think I would position this band in more of the Midwest Emo vein of things. You had the emotion that came from the heart-on-sleeve lyrics, but you also had the power that came from the instrumentation. It was like a choose-your-own-adventure kind of set. You could either get lost in your feelings or get lost in the vibe. Either way, you were getting lost in Summerbruise’s world, and it was perfect.

I kind of got the feeling that not many people in the audience knew much about Summerbruise. Don’t get me wrong, the audience was quick to fall into their world, but you just didn’t see a lot of people singing along to the words that should mean so much to you, should you know them. I think Summerbruise felt that a little bit, but was quick to break down the wall between audience and stage by any means necessary. At one point, Mike had a small egg shaker in his hand, but only had a second to switch back to the guitar. Instead of just throwing the egg behind him and hoping to find it after the set, he found a lucky soul in the front of the audience and passed it off. There was no direction, nothing but this kid in the audience knew what to do and continued the shaker part. This is such a small moment of Summerbruise’s set, I know, but I feel like it really sets the stage for the sense of love and community that made Wednesday night such a special night in this small and intimate venue.

Leisure Hour has been on my list to see for a hot minute now. I don’t know how I found them, but I would like to say it was fate. Although their songs have slightly juvenile lyrics (at least for most thirty-somethings), I got lost in their world of relatable words and infectious hooks. I’ve been listening to them for years and finally got to see them do their thing on Wednesday night. It was everything I could have asked for and more. This band has an edge to it. You can kind of hear it in their music, but you really get to see it at one of their shows. It’s a subtle edge, but it adds just the perfect amount of spice to make Leisure Hour a band to watch. From tender moments of heartbreaking words to boisterous moments of a trumpet solo met with a crowd that has gotten all ramped up by the way this group commands people to move (both by using their words and just by letting their energy cascade over an audience), Leisure Hour felt like a headlining act worthy of the mainstage at First Avenue rather than the small space of the 7th Street Entry but I’m not complaining. It’s just a matter of time before this band blows up, and I will always remember my time spent with them on Wednesday night.

Before I move on to the final act of Wednesday night, I need to mention one small moment from Leisure Hour’s set. Drummer Raegan Gordon wasn’t just a drummer; they also contributed a lot to the vocals. Seeing a drummer sing is nothing new, but it is something that always leaves my head spinning because, I mean, really, how do you do both? No, it wasn’t the fact that they were singing; it was a particular moment of the set from Raegan that really stood out to me. Raegan kicks off “Roku City,” one of the songs in their set on Wednesday night. It wasn’t the first time we heard Raegan’s voice on Wednesday, but it was the first time where it really stole the spotlight– still, not the point of this long-winded story. Within the first few words, I saw Raegan’s face change from the same face I had been watching all set to something a bit more emotional. It didn’t take long to figure out what was happening. Raegan was floored by the way their locals were being drowned out by the audience singing along. Again, this is nothing new. It’s something that I see happen nearly every night of my damn life, but it was Raegan’s response that stuck in my head. It was just so authentic, so lovely, so perfect. Again, like the story of the egg shaker with Summerbruise, this was such a small moment of Wednesday night’s set, but it was one that will stick with me.

Closing out my fantastic Wednesday night was the one and only Carly Cosgrove. This show was actually part of Carly Cosgrove’s first-ever full U.S. tour, so I don’t feel bad or surprised to say that this was my first time seeing this Philadelphia-based band, but I will say that I hope this is the start of a trend and I get more chances to see them sooner rather than later. Like the other two bands on this bill, Carly Cosgrove’s sound is the perfect balance between emotionally tender and energetic power. There were moments throughout Carly Cosgrove’s set where I really wanted to just fade into the darkest corner of the small venue and cry, whereas there were others when I wondered if I could stash my camera bag behind the bar so I could get a little sweaty with the young audience that was bopping around to the beat. Carly Cosgrove is just one of those bands where just standing there and listening to their amazing music isn’t enough. There’s something about them that makes you want to become part of the set in one way or another.

I’ll be the first to admit that their set did not feel as electrified as what I got from Leisure Hour just moments before, but what this band lacked in insane energy, they made up for in talent. This band means business. You could hear that with the way each of the songs they performed sounded like it was straight off a recording, but just with enough chutzpah where you knew they were playing with their hearts, not just their brains. They played everything I could have ever wished for, including a personal favorite of mine, “Fluff My Pillow,” and added just the perfect amount of geeky charm between songs for me to really see this band. I wish I had more to say about their set because it truly was great, but there’s just not much more to say. They got up there, played their hearts out, and left while still holding onto a corner of my heart. That was it, and, like that, my magical Wednesday was over.

I am curious to hear how Florence + The Machine was for everyone I knew at that show. I also can’t wait to hear how amazing Raye was down the street. There were choices to be made on Wednesday night and, although I’ll never know if I made the right one, I know I made one that made my heart extremely happy.

Line Up:

Summerbruise

Leisure Hour

Carly Cosgrove

Venue: 7th Street Entry

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 20

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 2 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Celebrity Sightings – 0

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

Summerbruise – 0

Leisure Hour – 0

Carly Cosgrove – 0

Show on Deck — The Maine / Grayscale / Nightly / Friday Pilots Club

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