Okay, we are starting with Farewell, My Love, and whether
I finish covering the rest of the show next week, or require additional time, I
will figure out as I go.
The first thing I need to acknowledge is that whoever is
running the band's Twitter did a pretty good job. When they first followed me,
and I followed back, I was sometimes a little irritated by the multiple rounds
of messages encouraging me to follow each of the band's individual members and
to check out their video, and to ask who was coming to what shows. Now I have
to admit that it worked.
Obviously, I did end up seeing a show that I could go to,
and getting a ticket. I did end up watching the video. More than any of that,
though, even before I gave in and followed each member, I had each one
connected with a name and a picture in my mind. Therefore, as I was on the
floor waiting for them to come on, and they would wander around, I was having
these flashes of recognition: Oh, that's Röbby. There's Logan.
It helps that they have such distinctive hairstyles
(well, Charlee and Chad have kind of similar hair), but mainly it was those
dramatic photos, sent out many times. Chomp Chomp Attack! followed me shortly
after, so I have been following them for about the same amount of time, but I
had no visual image of them. It may seem unimportant, but that kind of
connection increases the fans' investment in the band.
That being said, the strongest impression from seeing
them wandering around was how much younger and, well, maybe smaller isn't the
right word. More vulnerable? Anyway, they definitely looked younger, which
makes me wonder how young they would look without the hair and makeup.
The show itself was pretty good. The sets were all pretty
short, so it was just a few songs and then they were gone, but it was nice
seeing the interplay, and there were things that were interesting about it. For
example, guitarist Logan Thayer walks and poses for pictures with the swagger
of a frontman, but on stage he is all about the guitar, which is worth it. Fronting
is left to vocalist Ryan Howell, whose regular charm is augmented by a South
African accent.
Also on guitar, Röbby Creasey manage to be more of a ham,
interacting with the audience via facial expressions and mouthed lyrics. With a
fairly small stage to work with, we didn't get to see as much of bassist
Charlee Conley and drummer Chad Kowal, but it was adorable when Charlee laid
his head on Ryan's shoulder towards the end, and Chad did more interacting at
the merch table than the others. Also, I learned some things about managing
picks from watching both Röbby and Charlee, so that was cool.
Moving onto the music, their initial offering, A Dance
You Won't Forget (2011), is pretty good, but I feel like 2013's Mirror,
Mirror is superior. One of the things I admire about the band is the
diversity within their songs. Starting off with the title track, "Mirror,
Mirror" is frantic and anguished, the sound of tortured souls, and then
they immediately go into the delicate bells and sweet beauty of "My
Perfect Thing". That's different tones, and themes, but there is nothing
incongruous about them being together. Farewell, My Love maintains its own sound
without being monotonous; that's a band with a clear sense of identity, but
also with ability.
On the earlier LP you can see the potential there -- I
think "The Glamour" is a good example of that -- but it feels like
they have blossomed into something more.
Sadly there is not much available in the way of video,
but they have this tour going on now, and will be supporting Blood on the Dance
Floor after that, so they're on the rise. Music is available through iTunes and
Amazon.
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