GMA Showcases:Day 2

Monday night was Hideout @ 12th and Porter (for a second night in a row), with Danyew, The Listening, Abandon, Remedy Drive, and Seabird. It was my first opportunity to see all five of these bands. Danyew (his last name) is a new artist on Sparrow records, whose album actually released Tuesday. He has a very electronic feel to his music, combined with some quite good vocals. Look for big things from him.

Next was The Listening (formerly Rock And Roll Worship Circus). I have been dying to see these guys in concert for a while, and they totally exceeded all of my expectations for them. I picked up their 4 track EP and I’m eagerly awaiting their full release. Following was Abandon, a piano rock-ish band from Texas. They played some of the tracks from their already released EP and have a full length release coming very soon. I enjoyed getting to hear them play.

Probably to most unique performance of the night was Remedy Drive. Four brothers from Nebraska that have had a great deal of success with their debut album, Daylight is Coming. They currently have to singles in rotation, Daylight and All Along, both of which happen to be two of my favorite songs from them. Whether its standing on the speaker stacks and nearly falling over, running around the stage, or doing a handstand on the piano (yes, you read that right). In fact, due to all the craziness, David, the lead singer, messed up his palm pretty good. After they played, I got a chance to talk to David about how much the album has had an impact on me over the past year. These guys are great and I hope I get to see them again soon. Closing out the night was Seabird with their unique brand of piano rock. Great music from these guys, and very humble spirits as well.

Great lineup+great people= an amazing night. One more night of showcases for me, and then its time to head home, however reluctantly it may be.