Personalities That Rock
There are always bands to discover. There is always a continuous flow of new music and bands ending. There are regional limitations, where you are lucky to get the smaller to midsize bands making the drive all the way to Phoenix. One of my favorites that I discovered at the last Viva PHX was Rozwell Kid. Lucky for us, this year they went back on the road across the country again. Their tour mates for it were the excellent Prince Daddy and the Hyena plus our local Sundressed tasked with opening the killer show.
Sundressed are the perfect complement to the pair of bands on the bill. I admit, I was late to the party in discovering them. They are a fantastic blend of pop punk and emo. It is the perfect combination to get people moving on a few songs, while slowing it down occasionally for others.
There are excellent voices in all the vocals including Trevor, on lead. He brings a down to earth perspective to talking with the crowd. More amazing in he offers to his audiences someone to reach out to if they are struggling with addictions. Sundressed is one of the standout bands in the Phoenix scene, this only another example why.
Then Prince Daddy and the Hyena, the band with the coolest name of the night, were my latest surprise discovery. They are another blend of the musicians that remind me of that Indie Rock and Punk Rock hybrid that most associate with Jeff Rosenstock. It is that sound that brings an infectious energy to their performance.
Their personalities only furthered that cause with a happy go lucky rhetoric between songs. This set brought me a lot of smiling too. I am going to make sure to catch Prince Daddy and the Hyena whenever I can get the chance.
Last were the guys that I will always remember praising the AT&T moon, Rozwell Kid. This band is what if you took Weezer, but made it more rocking and nerdier. Some may call that impossible, but I say it has been accomplished by them. On that note, I really appreciated Jordan singing of a couple lyrics about being compared to Weezer to the chords of “Pork and Beans.”
To think that is only one of the great moments that their personality brings to the set. There was another time where they had the crowd hold up images of Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice like lighters to the song “Michael Keaton.” The charm of this band just puts them up another notch over others. Whenever you get the chance, Rozwell Kid is a band I highly recommend you go catch.
