Aquadolls and Sitting On Stacy Visit Valley Bar
I’m back on pushing blind discoveries are exactly why you try to make it at the beginning and stay to the very end of a show. If you read my prior M3F coverage, you already know that was a bucket load of seeing rad new musicians for me recently. That is continuing as I came out for the Aquadolls in their co-headlining tour with Sitting On Stacy and their cool openers in Hoity Toity. Both latter bands I’d never seen or heard before. Let me tell you, all of them made this Valley Bar show one of the most fun I’ve attended in this early year.
Opening was a band I was running to make that early Friday start to catch, Hoity Toity. They did not only live up to the Twitter recommendation I received but impressed above what I expected. It was high punk energy to an alternative rock and pop rock sound. Lead singer Shelby Muniz was all over that stage, dancing and showcasing her amazing vocals.
All this over amazing guitar chords from Aria and Tana on bass. It was exhilarating to watch, and this younger crowd was all into it returning loud applause and screams. If Hoity Toity isn’t on your radar, they should be as they put on a hell of a performance with fantastic songs.
Then in the middle of it was the one band I was familiar with, the Aquadolls. This marks my second time catching them as they were a surprise opener when Pennywise and The Bronx came to Phoenix in 2019. They exude such a positive and happy vibe from the stage in words and behavior. From Melissa, on vocals and guitar, to Keilah, on bass, and Jacqueline, on drums, there was many smiles to be found as they performed.
For what they performed, they are like garage rock, surf rock, and punk rock merged into one. They played tracks spanning the catalog from “Communicationissexy/idkhow2communicate” to “Wander.” In the mix was their cover of Lash’s “Take Me Away” because, as Keilah put it, it has blown up too much for them not to play it. Keilah and Jacqueline swapped instruments for a song for a cool moment. The Aquadolls left me with positive vibes and another superb live set of music.
Last up was the other blind spot, Sitting On Stacy. They came out swinging too. They hit with the wonderful melodies and pop punk sounds right out of the gate. They incorporated ska and reggae into a few tracks for my surprise a little into the set. Hoyt, lead vocals, and Kyle, on bass, do wonderful harmonizing on tracks.
With all the jostling and singing back toward the guys in the band, I am shocked there was never a mosh pit. Adding to the fun of it, I was standing near a very proud former stepdad of a member of the band too. Sitting on Stacy had a refined and excellent sound to them that closed this show on a high.
