Many, many years ago (in 2023), I caught wind that one of my favorite bands from early high school would be at a music festival called Wonderworks. Then I found out that I couldn’t go. I was crushed.
I was crushed only because the internet assumed they were breaking up… but they DIDN’T! So this time, a friend of mine bought our tickets, and we found ourselves at the Crafthouse Stage and Grill on March 25.
The type of music they make — the type of funky, soulful indie music that tastefully incorporates trumpet and saxophone — is bangin’. In other words, it lends itself well to live performance.
It’s fair to say that because of this, I had my expectations. I hate to be a bore and say what I always say — and maybe I’m just a sucker for live music more than I think — but man, they came to play.
Caleb Kopta, a more traditional 1970s rocker from the Pittsburgh area, opened with some straight-ahead, power-chord-driving tunes that everyone liked. It was good — like an appetizer.
THEN CAME THE FULL COURSE MEAL, THAT OH-SO-SHIMMERY INDIE ROCK. Axel, the lead singer, swished his wondrous rocker locks (and not the cliche indie middle part. I’m talking Cobain-level elegance and grace), summoning sets of overalls and beer-wielders — the beautiful image of the modern indie experience.
They opened with one of their classics, “What’s New,” followed by a mix of some of their new singles, “Utah,” “Flagstaff,” “Sunscreen,” and others, before finally returning to what I consider their gold: “Goofy,” “Sleeping in My Jeans,” and “Silhouette,” all from their “Bear on the Roof” EP. 15-year-old me was losing his mind, for real.
The turnout was surprisingly low for a band that has played Lollapalooza in the past, but, never fear, the hundreds in attendance were jumpin’. The place was rockin’. You shoulda been there.
But now that you know about this band, you can be there next time. This is a criminally underrated group, and, though their discography isn’t too broad, they have something harder and harder to come by these days: their own sound.
Brandishing super bright guitars and producing impressive riffs alongside solid jazz lines from the brass players, it was as if the members of Earth, Wind, and Fire were born in the early 2000s and raised on TikTok. Plus, they said they’re going to come back to Pittsburgh! So it looks like I’ll see you there.
(P.S. Their T-shirts were $15. Other tours, take note — maybe then I’ll buy your T-shirts, too.)
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