HOMESHAKE

HOMESHAKE brought sexy R&B to a sold out show.

What a time to be alive: the best local bands and the chillest artist out there came together for a sweet show. I’ve seen Los Shadows numerous of times and they never fail to impress me. Right away they started off with a newer, unreleased song titled “Down.” It begins with jazzy minor 7th chords and a cool walking bass line. Lead singer Andy Saldana carries smooth vocals throughout the tune, making you swoon. Later, they performed their most recent single, “Miami“, which easily has the greatest riff of all time. The song flows beautifully throughout its whole duration. Although it’s a slower song, they played it slightly quicker, and if intentional or not, it sounded awesome. The person beside me was having a great time dancing wildly to himself. Los Shadows might have found their biggest fan that night, and perhaps also the couple in front of me that was grinding each other during their entire set.

Next, Spooky Cigarette took the stage. By this time, the bar was getting packed and new faces were eager to hear what this five-piece had in store. Within just a few songs, both the band and the crowd were vibing. One of my personal favorites is their unreleased song called “In Due Time.” The melancholy chord progression yet upbeat structure results in an amazing song to hear live. I wish I could leak their voice memo of the song, but refer to this jam to get an idea of what I am talking about. Later, they performed a cover in which I originally thought wasn’t a cover! The song in question is Eisbaer by German 80’s post-punk band Grauzone. The cover perfectly reflects their music. Singer Frank Mindingall nails every musical aspect of the song, from the dissonant key notes to even the trumpet outro.

HOMESHAKE

By the time HOMESHAKE came up, everyone inside was squished like sardines. Despite this, everyone was having a good time. Fronted by Montreal-based musician Peter Sagar, the group introduced themselves with a short and sexy intro that had people cheering on and getting excited over the band’s chill energy. Sagar and his band played the hits from across his discography, including “Heat” and “She Can’t Leave Me Here Alone Tonight.” Although band’s aesthetic is very relaxed, the music itself is complicated. Drawing influences from jazz, R&B, and blues, the eclectic genre Sagar created transposes to weird chord shapes and melodies that are hard to make out. The unique blend evolves to new ground, especially in the songs “Making a Fool of You” and the newest single “Every Single Thing.” During the performance of the single, which is off his most recent album Fresh Air, he cleverly uses sampled harmonies and high-pitch modulation on his vocals. All the songs they performed sounded true to the recordings. It was pretty impressive seeing this indie pop band perform almost effortlessly.