Last Night Grand Hallway Worth A Listen
posted by on August 10 at 14:04 PM
Sleepy Eyes of Death have made their way onto my list of must-see local live acts. Their debut album is a great listen, but I grew to enjoy the band in a live setting, and their synthy melancholia works best when accompanied by their colored lights, fog, and projections. The visuals add a synesthetic element to the experience, giving the music added heft and impact. For this show they had a couple of small technical issues, but they sounded great - the volume and venue really worked well for them.
After their set I was ready to call it a night, actually leaving the venue, but deciding to return for Voyager One. It turned out that my absence was exactly when Voyager One played, as I got back just as Grand Hallway was starting. Here's the setup: one piano for lead vocalist/band mastermind Tomo Nakayama, two violinists, one cello, bassist (half standup, half electric), and drummer. Hardly your typical band setup, and the sound was equally fresh-sounding. At times Tomo's singing reminded me of Bends-era Thom Yorke, other times it drew more from his Asian heritage, while the orchestral leanings of the band sounded like something right off the Morr Music roster (B. Fleishmann specifically) or a kindred spirit to the new Cinematic Orchestra. It was still indie-pop at the end of the night, but this was indie-pop with ambition. When else do you see a band where half of the members look dressed for a recital (they had sheet music!), the other half ready for a night of beer-drinkin' at Linda's? My only annoyance with the performance was that I'd never heard of Grand Hallway before to share the gospel. Now that I have, I am. They've found a spot on my must-see list. They belong on yours as well.
Don't forget Voyager One's Jeramy Koepping on guitar, he's in that pic too.
donte- thanks for the review, but er ah, you write for a music mag and you did not know who was playing that night? sorry couldn't resist.
it was previewed i thought.
it was a great night tho, smoke machine gone wild, cymbals with uplights, 16mm projections with dualing korgs,
and yes a string quartet, who where really good, but their sound suffered i thought to the amplified mix.
to me i heard some early bowie influence in grand hallway- great show!
Tomo used to play for an outstanding band called Asahi, so its good to see that he's followed it up well. Quite talanted, that one is.
Tomo rulz. That kid can sing circles around just about anyone in town.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=128874
yeah, i write about music, but i was there for sleepy eyes of death and voyager one, so anyone else on the bill was an afterthought. since when is a music writer not allowed to be pleasantly surprised?
ok i accept that of course, but.... they were the headliner? anyways keep up the good writin :)
Comments Closed
In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).