A Festivus For the Rest Of Us!
With holidays approaching, the amount of shows slows down. Looking at the calendar I saw one that jumped out at me, with Harper and the Moths playing this pre-Christmas Eve night so I jumped on it. Turns out I ended up at a birthday show that I didn’t know the birthday guy, but he clearly has a bunch of awesome music friends.
Opening up was Cameron Rodgers doing an acoustic set. Cameron played with some help from his brothers too. His first brother played drums with him for a couple songs. Then they ended it on a sentimental note with his other brother coming up to sing Green Day for a friend lost recently. This was a touching moment to end his great set on.
What followed was a set that added a new member to my favorite folk singers in the valley, the Hard Luck Kid. I had not seen him perform before. His music touches upon political and humorous topics. Much of the Hard Luck Kid’s songs are with a satirical tone adding to my amusement. His political songs touch on events recent in the last couple months. I hope to catch him again soon.
Another band, Foresteater, I had not heard until this night played next. Their set came with another awesome surprise, my friend Kim Capria is a member of this band too. These guys and gal are an awesome alternative rock. I didn’t know what to expect, given earlier I ended up chatting with their lead vocalist, Mikey, with my shirt inspired conversation.
I learned that he once was in the Aquabats fan club which I may have thought I would be hearing ska. No matter, these guys play some excellent music and are yet another local band people should be making their way out to see.
Finally we came to the band I showed up for, a local favorite since I discovered them in 2015, Harper and the Moths. These guys and a gal bring so much energy to the stage and their sets. Harper and the Moths’ musical talents compliment that energy perfectly. Their charismatic frontman, Harper, does an excellent job moving around stage and suave moves with that microphone stand.
I put them into a mix of modern indie Alternative rock, like White Stripes and Fitz and the Tantrums, fused with the 70’s and 80’s spirit of music. One cool surprise was their cover of the Saved by the Bell theme in the middle of their set. These guys are in the top ranks of my favorite local bands, and hope that these words will get more people out to their shows going into 2017.
Normally I would end my writing here because the final musicians, W.A.S.H., aren’t exactly part of my music tastes. Although they did have some good moments, including seeing Harper up there singing with their EDM style of music. I just wanted an excuse to put a picture of their cool helmets in front of your eyes. All in all, this was a great night of music, expanding the list of local musicians I want to catch more of.
