Photo: Janice French
It’s another great night at the Rialto and the streaming new rock of KFMA bring us a choice lineup of indie, pop and punk rock on the Sleeping With Giants tour starting with the positive and upbeat Sherwood. A new song ‘The Best In Me’ brings out the love as the remarkable vocals of Nate Henry and Dan Koch create brilliant harmonies and a heartwarming mood. Vox and message are the most striking things about this band. Mike’s keyboard brings on ‘Song In My Head’, whilst their combined vocals balance and play against each other then unify in this sunshine piece. The crowd is now totally won over as they swing and rock to ‘For The Longest Time.’ Cheers break out way before the song is done. A murmur drifts through the audience after their gone, a wide eyed chick turns to us and says “That band was awesome!”
High energy, skill and optimism grace the stage as The Rocket Summer takes his shot at fame. TRS usually consists of just the musical genius of Bryce Avary who normally does all the instrumentals and vocals but tonight he’s brought a band. The audience claps, Bryce manipulates the keys then takes over the drums and ‘Brat Pack’ has the mob jumping. This song is full of melodic tricks and interesting bridges. ‘So Much Love’ gets Bryce aggressive on the keys then quickly he switches to a guitar, the crowd roars. The song drops to softness; suddenly Mike from Sherwood appears, adds his trumpet then kicks this joyful piece back into high gear.
Armor For Sleep starts out with the poignancy of ‘The Truth About Heaven.’ But their popularity becomes apparent with ‘Remember To Feel Real’ as the crowd earnestly sings every word along whilst reaching and screaming. It’s one of those rare moments when the audience and band totally connect. Vocalist Ben Jorgensen shouts “This is the first song we wrote as a band” and delivers ‘Dream To Make Believe.’ A mosh pit appears, the agitated mob churns and ‘Car Underwater’ drowns us in lost love and timeless devotion. A sudden pause is followed by a slamming drum solo then Ben winds the set down singing “I would still die for you…” over and over.
From Illinois the indie band The Academy Is… performs ‘The Phrase That Pays’ with slick polish and style. William Beckett sings one line and the mob sings the next. He moves about like a cat with an impressive super-rockstar physical performance and his focus is always centered on the fans. ‘The Phrase That Pays’ has the horde jumping so hard that the photo pit floor is bouncing under our feet and it’s hard to keep our balance. A cool confident beat ushers in ‘Bulls In Brooklyn’ then William shows he has “it” as the master showman falls to his knees and wails out the “Woah-oh’s.”
The stage goes dark, the drums beat, William counts, the lights come on and he stands wistfully staring skyward then plants the vocals of ‘Seed.’ Their set has a huge banner with graduated strobes that flash with the beat of the drums. He announces “This song is about living with regret” and the beautiful soaring ‘Everything We Had’ lays waste. His vox is clear, expressive, controlled and stunning as he takes us through a journey of the heart. ‘Checkmarks’ breaks us out of our trance and the mob is jumping once again. He throws the mic stand in the air, struts and works every inch of the stage. It was an awesome performance and The Academy Is… put on a pro act that thrilled till the very last note.
