Review: Louisville is for Lovers @ Pour Haus – 2/15

Louisville is for Lovers was this past Friday at the Pour Haus. I was taking the experience to just enjoy the show, rather than to consciously review it while I was there. Nevertheless, the line-up was very impressive. I’d gotten there for the first act, but missed his name. I was incredibly impressed, because I absolutely love the DIY style he played. He played half standing, half kneeling while pressing buttons and levers to create an absolute sonic wave of sound that was both beautiful and introspective. He would play a note, then get down to set the loop and sample rates. It was really great to hear, and while I thought it was great to watch, I would imagine the presentation aspect of the show bored some others. That said, it was true DIY & I really enjoyed it.

Next up was Chemic, who played very nice indie pop love songs that was perfect for the Valentine’s weekend occasion. I feel bad for not having much to say about these guys, because I really did enjoy their performance, but while I love simple indie pop love songs, I don’t have a lot of words to say about it. I missed the next band, but made it back in time for One Small Step. One Small Step has a bit of DIY feel to them as well, playing several samples & combining loads sof instruments as the multitalents Jess sat on her cinder block and played a variety of things & Pawl kept everyone together on bass. I hadn’t appreciated it before, but I feel a good deal of pop punk influence in OSS because of the level of energy and brevity of their songs. That thought gave me a whole new appreciation for their music & I have to reaffirm my recommendation in taking the time out to catch them next time they’re playing.

After One Small Step was The Mack. These guys played one of Nick’s favorite songs from the latest Louisville is for Lovers compilation, so I was excited to hear them live. They played more or less a blend of alt-country with a bit of indie rock flare. One of the highlights of the entire night for me was when Jeff called up one of his friends and they did a few songs, including a cover of Turn on Your Lovelight by the Grateful Dead. They took the track and really made it their own, which I really appreciated, although I guess a song that changes and evolves as much as that one has, who knows what a faithful reproduction would even be.

The clear crowd favorites that finally got the crowd to stand up and move forward were the Phantom Family Halo. Their drummer, Tony Bailey, really impressed me. Although the guys were having sound woes with the sound man, their drummer banged banged banged on those drums unlike anything I was set to see. He was a beast, just destroying those things and it was incredible to see. The band itself was really fun to watch and played a pretty impressive kind of indie rock that I could see on Pitchfork as easy as the next band that makes it on to its radar. I’ve been looking forward to the chance to get to see all of these bands, and it was a wonderful testament to our music scene and how close we are…

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