Jukebox the Ghost, Little Daylight, Secret Someones, Trees, Dallas
DALLAS – Arriving at Trees, one can’t help but notice how sparsely it’s populated. Once the curtain opens we were pleasantly surprised by an opening act, NYC born and Jukebox the Ghost label mates, Secret Someones. The femme fatales backed by a single male drummer/percussionist produced a blast of energy entirely reminiscent of my love of 90’s alt-rock. Leading in with “I Won’t Follow”, a modern anthem to individuality, the crowd became lost to the groove. Songs comprised of not overly technical writing, yet expertly arranged vocal harmonies reeled you in and resonated deep inside. Four or five songs in, a cover of Nirvana’s “Breed” was ripped out, causing many to scream back at the stage word for word.
Up next, electric magnificence known as Brooklyn’s own Little Daylight. A haunting set of pad chords envelops the atmosphere. Lead melodies layer in, followed by steady, full bass into a climax of ambient excellence. Suddenly the beat drops into a song which could later become recognized as “Restart”.
The trio, led by sweetheart front woman Nikki Taylor, consisted of quite elegantly composed indie-
electronic dance tracks. From the steady beat and tastefully reverbed guitar of the trio’s single “Mona Lisa” through the boom-tom feels and crunchier tones of the closing track “My Life”, Little Daylight made it quite clear what they wanted out of the crowd. It can be best described in their cover; glam king David Bowie’s very own “Let’s Dance”.
As the crowd pushed in and the numbers were accumulating, it began. There was a sudden flurry of fog, multicolored lights and vibrant piano tones. Opening with “Postcard”, Jukebox The Ghost led the crowd by the hand through a melodic fantasy. As everyone responds to Jukebox classics “Hold It In” and “The Stars”, pianist Ben Thornewill was teasing the people in the crowd screaming yes with a response of “yaaaasss”, following through with stories from the rest of the tour.
The set advanced through the progressive chord structures over tightly flowing percussion, which fans have come to expect from the Washington natives. The intensity in the crowd never failed. Wrapping up th
e set and taking leave of the stage, multiple calls for encore rang out. Three more songs were played to abide by the fans, the closing of which Cherry Tree label-mates Secret Someones were invited back to the stage. The two bands melded into a singular rock entity and jammed out the Bangles hit tune “Walk Like An Egyptian”. All the kids in the crowd screamed “hey ohhh, hey ohhh!”
Overall, fans were delighted with a show they won’t soon forget.
Article by: Steven Csolak
Photos by: Jason Maguire
About Author
