Show Review: Abram Shook Album Release @ Mohawk (1/24)

With tons going on in the city of Austin, musically, we hopped around the town Friday night, finally making our way over to support our friend Abram Shook and the release of his wonderful album, Sun Marquee. We were joined by friends and family; jokes were told, songs were sung. Reflecting back, the one word that sticks to my mind is consistency.  

Read on for more detailed thoughts and some great photos by Brian Gray. 

Royal Forest released the very excellent Spillway LP last year, and we were all rather impressed with the songs they put together.  But, I’d hate myself if I didn’t say that my one reservation about the band was their live set-up.  They execute their songs well, but for some reason the energy never seemed to transpire on stage, that is until Friday night.  Upon the stage, the guitar shook, ringing out the jagged notes that are used to fill out the space in their pop rock jams.  Sure, the bass player still seems unimpressed, but maybe he was just focusing on providing the rhythm.  It’s great to see it all come together so well, as we knew the band had it in them considering how much we love their songs.

And then came Good Field, the model of Austin consistency.  Paul Price has worked hard to build his band, and everything just continues to pay off for the group.  Price’s voice is one of great strength and intoxication, drawing in audiences to the construction of perfect pop sensibility.  His stage presence is such that you can’t help but appreciate the man, as he seems to simply enjoy himself too much, which seems to always have been the point in writing great songs.  And of course, you always can go from Paul to their keyboardist “Smiles,” as he grins through every single note.  You want a band that can provide pop songs with intricate melodies, then stop here with this outfit.

Then we closed our night with the man of the moment, Abram Shook, who just released Sun Marquee. We’ve long waited for Abram to flesh out a band to accompany his ambitious dreams, and the group behind him on Friday evening did just that.  Every attention to detail was given by the five piece group, even bringing on friends Carla and Ted to provide some accompanying vocal support.  It was clear as Abram shimmied back and forth, begging his guitar to sing out loud, that he was just as proud to finally have the pieces together.  Personally, I like the distinctive qualities of Shook live, as he aims to hit each note he puts on record, which is more than can be said for other artists.  Hits like “Coastal” and “Recovery” went over well with a packed house, illustrating that at this moment the world is all Abrams, and we couldn’t be happier.