Concert Review - 11/24/12 Craft Culture Showcase at M.O.M’s in Doylestown – Our Griffins and Cruiser
Concert reviews are somewhat of a staple here at Root Down in the Shadow. This concert review is quite special, as it comes from a concert buddy! What better way to share the joy of music than to hear what a friend of the site thinks!
So, without further hesitation. The first contributor post, by my special concert bud, Mariel Lorenz!
Although there are some great clubs in Philly, if you’re out in the ‘burbs and want to see some up and coming bands, look no further than in Doylestown on a Saturday night. M.O. M.’s (Maxwell on Main) hosts the Craft Culture series featuring local bands and even some not so local ones. Plus it’s all free, which can always sweeten the deal for music lovers who are searching for new sounds to get into.
This past Saturday, there was certainly a packed house for the double bill of Our Griffins and Cruiser. Two bands with very different styles, but both had great EP’s which I was curious to see translate live.
First up was Our Griffins. This is singer-songwriter DJ Brown’s project. He is only 20 years old and hails from the Lehigh Valley. Listening to his EP Conversations it could draw comparisons to Nick Drake, early David Gray, or maybe Field Report. DJ has a great voice and sings very assuredly. It is a quiet record and if you are not paying attention, you might miss what his songs are all about. With that in mind, I was interested to see how this would come across in the standing room only crowd. Our Griffins performed probably the shortest set I had seen ever at M.O.M’s – all of 30 minutes. A very simple set up – DJ on the acoustic guitar and two back up electric guitars. DJ sounded confident vocal wise, but unfortunately for as many people that were there he wasn’t grabbing their attention. This something that I notice a lot with opening acts. They tend to get treated as background noise. I would still recommend catching them if you can.
Next was Cruiser. Truthfully, I was really excited to see this band. Their self-titled Cruiser EP was a blast to listen to. It’s pure indie rock pop and reminded me of other bands I have been really into as of late– Free Energy and Dr. Dog. Plus they had just recently played CMJ Festival about a month ago in New York. Cruiser is Andy State’s solo project. The songs on his record can make anybody feel the warmth of summer on these getting colder days. For this set (again another short one – all of 35 minutes) Cruiser was a 4 piece including Andy on lead vocals and guitar. Here comes my one complaint of the evening that makes me sound old –it was really loud, like obnoxiously loud. I expect metal and punk acts to be loud and in your face, not this group. Nonetheless, they did get the crowd moving with their fun, beachy vibes. I hope to see them again, but I’ll be bringing ear plugs.
You can check out both bands on Facebook Our Griffins and Cruiser. You can stream both on the site or download for $5.
Mariel Lorenz, is a contributor to Root Down In the Shadow as local band and venue quality checker! She also serves as primary concert buddy!
So, without further hesitation. The first contributor post, by my special concert bud, Mariel Lorenz!
Although there are some great clubs in Philly, if you’re out in the ‘burbs and want to see some up and coming bands, look no further than in Doylestown on a Saturday night. M.O. M.’s (Maxwell on Main) hosts the Craft Culture series featuring local bands and even some not so local ones. Plus it’s all free, which can always sweeten the deal for music lovers who are searching for new sounds to get into.
This past Saturday, there was certainly a packed house for the double bill of Our Griffins and Cruiser. Two bands with very different styles, but both had great EP’s which I was curious to see translate live.
First up was Our Griffins. This is singer-songwriter DJ Brown’s project. He is only 20 years old and hails from the Lehigh Valley. Listening to his EP Conversations it could draw comparisons to Nick Drake, early David Gray, or maybe Field Report. DJ has a great voice and sings very assuredly. It is a quiet record and if you are not paying attention, you might miss what his songs are all about. With that in mind, I was interested to see how this would come across in the standing room only crowd. Our Griffins performed probably the shortest set I had seen ever at M.O.M’s – all of 30 minutes. A very simple set up – DJ on the acoustic guitar and two back up electric guitars. DJ sounded confident vocal wise, but unfortunately for as many people that were there he wasn’t grabbing their attention. This something that I notice a lot with opening acts. They tend to get treated as background noise. I would still recommend catching them if you can.
Next was Cruiser. Truthfully, I was really excited to see this band. Their self-titled Cruiser EP was a blast to listen to. It’s pure indie rock pop and reminded me of other bands I have been really into as of late– Free Energy and Dr. Dog. Plus they had just recently played CMJ Festival about a month ago in New York. Cruiser is Andy State’s solo project. The songs on his record can make anybody feel the warmth of summer on these getting colder days. For this set (again another short one – all of 35 minutes) Cruiser was a 4 piece including Andy on lead vocals and guitar. Here comes my one complaint of the evening that makes me sound old –it was really loud, like obnoxiously loud. I expect metal and punk acts to be loud and in your face, not this group. Nonetheless, they did get the crowd moving with their fun, beachy vibes. I hope to see them again, but I’ll be bringing ear plugs.
You can check out both bands on Facebook Our Griffins and Cruiser. You can stream both on the site or download for $5.
Mariel Lorenz, is a contributor to Root Down In the Shadow as local band and venue quality checker! She also serves as primary concert buddy!
Comments
Post a Comment