Show Review: A Night @ Holy Mountain
We wanted to put more coverage towards the locals this year and our friend Glen Brown was going to be at the Red Bull Sound Select show at Holy Mountain earlier this week. He offered up some thoughts and shots, so we were like “yeah, do that” and he was like “OK, I will” and we were like “that’s gnarly”. So we have a little love for Gentlemen Rogues, The Sour Notes, Not In The Face and Ume.
Click through for Glen’s notes and plenty of pics. I should have gone. You should have gone. We should have gone.
Mr. Brown’s Show Notes:
First to hit the deck are Gentleman Rogues who I had seen a just a few weeks ago on this very stage. They were fine that night, but nothing spectacular. Well I’m not sure who or what had lit a fire under their asses, but they were a hundred times better. They played with passion and vigor and were clearly having fun. Pop punk of the highest order, great stuff, singer/guitarist Danny Dunlap even throwing in some well timed scissor kicks for good measure, I look forward to checking out their soon to be released EP on Shifting Sounds.
After a short break, it is the turn of The Sour Notes. I like this band and they always put on a great show. There’s a lot to look at as they have several members and fill the smallish stage with instrumentation. Their music is equal parts hooky and epic, sweet vocals courtesy of main dude Jared Boulanger and lush synth swaths wash from the stage as the growing the crowd laps it up. They have been announced as one of the official showcase bands of this years SXSW and you can catch them before then as they are set to play inside at Stubb’s after the Tame Impala gig later this month.
After Sour Notes‘ melodic indie pop, it is time for something raucous. Not In The Face‘s popularity has been growing thanks to word of mouth and stunning shows, tonight was no exception. Originally a dirty noisy two-piece the recent addition of guitarist Michael Gibson adds an extra layer to the bands sonic, punked up blues. I particularly enjoyed watching main man J.T picking up a tambourine, free of guitar shimmying across the stage like a drunk Nick Cave crooning and vamping it up. After an amazing set of loud whiskey saturated tracks from their debut LP Bikini the show ends with a hi octane burn-through of what else but their balls out anthem “Brass Tacks”. The band leaves the stage sweat-soaked with the crowd begging for more, and you really can’t ask for anything better than that.
It is getting late as the crowd pushes closer to the stage to watch the high flying Ume, another trio of local heroes. They recently played to a very full Emo’s East during free week and showed 1,800 souls just how special they are. Tonight in this more intimate setting they prove it once again. Vocalist/guitarist Lauren Larsen is a tiny firecracker, pure and simple; she puts her heart and soul into every show and she is a joy to watch as she flails around whilst making her guitar scream. It is a rock show and she has all the moves in spades. The rhythm section of Rachel Fuhrer and Eric Larson is tight and fluid all at once and provides the perfect backdrop to Lauren’s physical and musical theatrics. Apparently the new album is nearing completion and I can’t wait to hear it.
Editor’s Note: Another nicely done bit of work here. Glen is getting comfortable in the lobby of the Hall. We have not heard any reports of him biting fellow concert goers, so there’s that. Please check out more of Glen’s work at photo site…