Here We Go Magic @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Tuesday night I trekked over to Music Hall of Williamsburg to catch The Hymns, The Antlers and Here We Go Magic. I have to say, for me Hymns kind of stole the show and it's a shame more people weren't there early enough to see them. They're a New York band (by way of North Carolina and Texas), who play country-style rock. While they didn't always look 100% sure of themselves (maybe it was the fact that the bass player had joined them 2 days prior and they didn't have their whole band with them), I think they are definitely a band to watch over the next few years. Their music is solid and highly enjoyable. Considering the small audience they had, they did a good job of keeping us engaged and keeping their own energy up. I don't think I've ever seen someone jump around on stage as much as guitarist Jason Roberts, who accidentall spit his gum into his hair at one point (hot! haha). Definitely check them out if you have a chance. I bet they're even better with their full band.

St. Sebastian [mp3] - (iTunes)

Next up was The Antlers. While I really enjoy their music ("Hospice" is one of my favorite albums this year) and think they are incredibly talented, I have to say that I didn't think MHOW was a good venue to see them perform. I want to be sitting down with a glass of wine or something when I listen to The Antlers. Not standing up in a poorly mixed music hall with drunk people bumping into me as they try to dance to music that isn't danceable. Their wall-of-sound thing that they have going on would be great in a sit-down venue with a really stellar sound system where we could relax calmly and just absorb the beautiful music. Their music has an intense drama to it that I absolutely love. But I would prefer to see them in a different venue next time.

Two [mp3] - (iTunes)

Headlining was Here We Go Magic, a band that I'm not sure what size they are, as new members seemed to appear out of thin air at times and then disappear again. I believe it's spear-headed by Luke Temple (see right). Here We Go Magic tied together the first two bands well, as they were a little more upbeat than The Antlers, but still had a wall-of-sound, semi-experimental thing going on. Listening to their self-titled album, I have to say I love the music. It's different enough to stand out, but catchy enough to be pallatable to many different people. Unfortunately, the sound mixing got even worse when they went on and so I can't say I enjoyed the show as much as I thought I would. First, I couldn't hear the vocals at all. Then the vocals were all too loud and unevenly mixed amongst all the singers. So once again, we have a venue problem (although I think the venue size/setting was appropriate for Here We Go Magic). But I would say that they're definitely worth seeing again, hopefully in a venue with better sound mixing.

Tunnelvision [mp3] - (iTunes)

More pictures HERE.