Grade: A-
Pinegrove performed at Total Drag, a Sioux Falls record shop, Tuesday, Oct. 17. Evan Stephens Hall, the lead singer and guitarist of Pinegrove, insisted they play at Total Drag, and not at The Icon Lounge, even though Total Drag can only hold about 80 people. Pinegrove has had a number of successful shows and albums put out in their time, and they’re putting out another album soon. I heard about this show on Total Drag’s Facebook page.
I was first drawn into the show by opening act Lomelda’s sad melodies and imaginative lyrics. It’s like when I’m walking on the street and I get a waft of freshly baked bread, and I find myself wandering to the core of that scent and before I know it, I’m so encased with the aroma that I don’t notice I’ve purchased a piece and I’m eating it.
That’s how listening to Lomelda was. Before I knew it, I was swaying to Hannah Read’s (the vocalist/guitarist) voice, entranced by her fingers moving up and down the neck of her guitar in such a gentle way.
Lomelda is a band that originated in Silsbee, Texas. Sonicbids describes Lomelda as “rock and folk,” but I think the band is more indie/folk than rock/folk. Although their Facebook page does label them as, “sad party.” The band played a number of songs off their newest album “Thx” which was released Sept. 8.
Lomelda captured the audience’s attention by slowly bringing us into their set, wringing us out of our emotions with lyrics like, “will we disappear into nothing,” and “I love you, I just hate that it feels like goodbye,” and then setting us free to enjoy the next two bands.
After Lomelda, I was finished with the piece of bread and I was full. You know that feeling of being full and wanting to take a 20-minute nap? That’s what the next band, Florist, was like.
Florist is an indie pop/indie folk band from Brooklyn, New York. Their set was very dreamy and repetitive, each song sounded similar with only small differences. Although their music is enjoyable outside of concert, it was rather boring live.
Emily Sprague, the lead singer/guitarist, seemed like a perfectionist and it really reflected in her performance. She had a number of issues with her guitar and seemed very unnerved by how close the crowd was to her. Even though she appeared to be having a bad day, it didn’t seem to affect her performance that much.
The band is compiled of great individuality, and they’re all great musicians. They have good synergy and worked well together, except, like I said before, it was boring.
After listening to Lomelda, having a peak in every other song, and then listening to a set that sounded almost all the same, was kind of disappointing. Their music was beautiful, but it didn’t hype me up for Pinegrove. My buddy put it perfectly, “this is the kind of music I want to listen to drunk while lying on the floor.”
I’ve woken up from my nap, full of energy from eating some great bread and I’m ready to rule the world! At least that’s how it felt like listening to Pinegrove.
They started off their set with the song “Angelina” from their album “Everything so Far.” At this point, the crowd had tripled in size and everyone was packed in tightly, standing side by side, sweating together in anticipation for the rest of an amazing set.
Pinegrove is an indie rock/emo country band that originated in Montclair, New Jersey. The band usually has six members, but only three original members played the show, and Hannah Read, the guitarist/vocalist from Lomelda, filled in for them on bass.
Stephens Hall was one of the most spunky and personable people I’ve met. He, and the rest of the band, seemed to be more than overjoyed to be playing a show at a small local venue. Like all of the other bands that played Tuesday night, each musician added individuality to the band.
Pinegrove’s set was 16 songs long, each song bringing a new kind of energy to the room. Everyone was dancing, or at least swaying, and no one hesitated to sing along when they knew the words.
Their set was full of ups and downs, melodies sad enough to make even the toughest of people tear up, and lyrics soul-wrenching enough to make the audience have to take a deep breath afterward.
Although Pinegrove falls under the emo category of music, it’s not extremely depressing. Most of their songs are hype-worthy.
Their songs are filled with love, peace, and self-discovery. Pinegrove’s name came from a song that was about trying to writing songs, and the creative process in general.
Overall, this concert was extremely wholesome, and if you want to catch them, they’re all still on tour until Dec. 29.
