Pics: Great Northern & The Dears @ The Parish 5.18
Two bands, in two different places in their careers, and two bands that both hold specific memories for me in regards to the music that they make.
Great Northern, more recently had captured my attention @ a show that I happened across purely by accident a couple of years ago @ Club DeVille. I couldn’t help but become completely engaged with the beautiful, soaring, melodic arrangements produced by the band and the seductive, smokey vocals of Rachel Stolte. Over the past couple of years the band’s sound has evolved, moving the guitars forward in the mix, leading the songs more directly, rock forward, while still holding on to their trademark sound. The 3rd time to see the band live, only confirmed this band evolution. A welcomed one at that. Stolte and guitarist/love interest Solon Bixler have clearly taken the helm and are moving the band along in a direction that will hopefully have them in my sites for years to come.
The Dears speak more to a past interest of mine, specifically to the No Cities Left record years, and the opportunity to catch the band’s live performance, has managed to slip by me over the years. As the band has hovered through the interest of fans and critics alike over the many years, while scratching the surface a ceiling to their career that might have lead to bigger things, they continue to produced albums that manage a relative holding position for their career. Being quite honest, my interest in the band this evening was to hopefully catch a glimpse at the band that acquired those moments for me during those early years, and although a glimpse shimmered for a few moments, I felt that the band had shed that skin, and my opportunity to live those songs as they were once performed has passed. The band’s performance was solid, Murray Lightburn was the front-man I expected to see, and the crowd gathered for this Monday night, many of which I might expect not might even be much familiar with the rich history of the group, left entertained and content.
