07 Jul 11

Hey, blogspot readers, it's day two of this rockin' adventure around town and SouthSide's at Lakeview's hot spot for live local music - Elbo Room. Tonight, this venue featured an eclectic lineup of music performances from a fusion of steel pan/jazz to rock alternative and punk pop. This reviewer was excited to welcome back friends, Honor By August (DC) to the stage as well as meet new friends The Great Barrier Reefs (TN). Though now staying for their entire performance, SouthSide highly suggests checking out the roof top rockers of Kristenpalooza 2011 - Foreign Powder. This energetic quartet rocked the stage with their brand of punk pop rock sound which had a touch of "violent" feel heard in Kirsten's "don't mess with me" vocals. Never had this reviewer's ears heard such venomous spite within a female's voice, blogspot readers ...a voice of frustrated angst that could start riots or even spark a revolution. And tonight, she was the voice of the people who were fed up with things in general. For example, during Power, one could feel her angst permeating throughout the room especially when singing "...can you see me..." meanwhile in Paralyzed Inside, she definitely shined highlighting her dynamic vocal style by emitting the emotions behind the words. Let's not forget the band and the music behind these vocals that perfectly matched her venomous feminine power with some of the hardest punk sound tearing down the stage. As SouthSide mentioned earlier, it was "violent" yet rockin' amidst such fiery energy that you can see as well as hear. Foreign Powder will be bringing their rock sound and vibe to Beat Kitchen on Aug 21 for their CD release show. Visit them at http://www.facebook.com/foreignpowder for more information.

Something wondrously in jazzy funk sound is rockin' Nashville's local scene ...and it's definitely not what you expect to hear from the country capital of the world, blogspot readers. The Great Barrier Reefs (TN) rocked the Elbo Room stage following on the heels of another exciting steel pan performance by Jonathan Scales (NC) who by the way is good friends with The Reefs. Unlike Jonathan's fusion of steel pan and rock, this band leaned more on the side of steel pan-jazz fusion and what a fusion it was. The Reefs sound combined a cool island breeze of pan rhythms with the lively groove of jazz that had everyone in the audience hooked onto the energetic melodies wafting throughout the basement lounge. And just like Jonathan, they also had SouthSide enjoying the spirited compositions of unspoken "lyrics" in which she found herself listening closely to the shared "vocal" banter between the steep pan and saxophone with the rest of the band as "backing vocals". This reviewer also liked how The Reefs continuously kept the good vibrations flowing without breaking the contagious music momentum surrounding its audience. This reviewer suggests listening to Gratitude for its downtempo vibe that's perfect for a "steppers" set due to its tinge of R&B within the jazz rhythms (off steel pan and saxophone combined) and Body Language - again taking the energy and tempo down that featured the saxophone on lead "vocals" while the steel pan takes more of a "backing vocal" presence yet becoming a very steamy and quite passionate instrumental piece as well as the title track to The Reef's current CD - Finding Time and Matt's Birthday. This reviewer highly recommends planning to party under the cool jazz-pan sounds by The Great Barrier Reefs this summer especially when they travel to Atlanta in the coming weeks. For more information, visit http://www.thegreatbarrierreefs.com or http://www.reverbnation.com/thegreatbarrierreefs.

"...drink more, we sound better..."

Coming off their rockin' appearance at this year's Summerfest in Milwaukee, friends Honor By August graced the Elbo Room stage with a return appearance, blogspot readers. However in SouthSide's opinion, this performance was slightly different from last year's when they shared the stage with The Ruse (CA) ...something she didn't quite see and hear last year. What she heard (and saw) was Michael (front man/guitarist) inserting more of himself vocally into Honor's lyrics which not only brought out his dynamic falsetto voice but made also the words seem so realistcally believeable to listen. He totally surprised this reviewer with the power of his vocal range that pumped emotional fierceness thus creating a sense the songs meant something personal to him as his voice touched the sentiments and mood in the right places. For example, during Johnny (Pass Me Another One), Michael truly immersed himself into the lyrics highlighting how powerfully emotional his vocals could get that SouthSide felt the words not just heard them. And being amidst a downtempo melody featuring keys/piano rhythms, she was easily able to read beyond the heartfelt vocal tone and watch his facial movements expressing the tone as he allowed the words to effect him dynamically. Performing other songs like Found (track 1 off Honor's 2nd CD in which one will inspiring words of encouragement within the catchy alternative hooks) and Unbreakable (an upbeat tempo within a steady energetic tone where Michael first had the audience feeling his vocals), Honor didn't forget to wow this audience with its hard-hitting rock side when Evan (guitarist/keys/backing vocals) took center stage to lead off the band in Good Enough. SouthSide highly suggests rockin' to the contemporary/alternative rock sounds by Honor By August. Visit http://www.honorbyaugust.com or http://www.facebook.com/honorbyaugustfan for more music and details.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide