Music on a Monday
Tonight was a night to go see a friend play. With that meant it was additionally one of those nights going in mostly blind to the rest of the lineup. Of course, going in blind to the two other bands turned out to reward. Both the Roosevelts and Dirty Sunset were excellent, plus another great time catching the Banter tonight.
Dirty Sunset opened up with a fantastic, full of energy folk sound from right here in Phoenix. They are full of guys who like to move around as they play. JP, vocals and guitar, and Kevin, violin, seem to move the most about the Pub Rock stage. They were stomping their feet, dancing around, and just enjoying themselves up there. Expressive would be the understatement watching the faces of everyone in the band. Dirty Sunset had the only violinist of the night too. I was impressed watching and listening to Dirty Sunset for my first time.
They were followed by my friend, Kim, and her band The Banter. The band appears to have grown with the addition of a keyboardist since I first wrote about them. It has added to the band’s dynamic. The only unfortunate thing about the set was the drum kit being kind of hidden. Though their sound was not impacted, and Kim’s voice is amazing up there. Plus, animated would be a great way to describe the dynamic of everyone in this band on stage. I don’t think anyone in The Banter was standing still too long, and smiles could be seen through the set. It is great hearing songs like “Mason Jar” played with the band that I used to hear her play solo. If you haven’t checked them out, be sure to listen to the three songs so far up on Spotify.
Last up was a band that I would describe as a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n roll, the Roosevelts. It was their first visit to Phoenix, but a decent audience showed up for the show. There was some people dancing and swinging around. Cool moments include when their other guitarist and vocalist, Jason, not only grabbed the mandolin, but played both it and his guitar through a song. I was pleasantly surprised by the Roosevelt’s set, and happy I made it out for all three of these bands tonight.
