Chris Parry of Baylock at Lupo's
April 4th I was right back to Lupo’s for the WBRU Rockhunt Finals, 4 local bands for $7 how could you go wrong. Well the night started out with the [Viennagram:]. While anyone who has the balls to get on stage and play instruments has more musical ability than I, I will leave it at these guys were definitely not my style. My opinion was probably not helped by the fact that after their set the lead singer kept gangling by me in Gollum-esque fashion, wearing a wide striped red and white circus jacket and top hat, looking as though he’d had 3 too many tabs of acid.
Cozying up to the stage I ran into some gents from Innocent Uprising (and their crowd) out to support their boys in Baylock, great to see locals out in support of each other. As usual Baylock did a great job of showcasing their versatility from the acoustically driven “Conscience” and “Rise” to the heavier thrashing “General Store” and “Blue Amberol.” John bounced around on bass expending more energy in one set than I do in a year, Kirby pounded the skins creating a great back beat for Chris’s tight rhythm and additional percussion laid the groundwork while Tim’s blazed his precise lead. Going for the gold they played the most impressive version of “Patience” I’ve seen to date.
Matt Kirby and John Mclaughlin of Baylock at Lupo's
Taking seats at stage right Chris and Tim brandished their acoustics and started tearing through the song while Kirby and John took to the shadows in the rear of stage left. After allowing Chris and Tim the spotlight for 4 minutes, or so, Kirby and John emerged from the shadows ready to take over. Kirby took to the mic with a harmonica in hand blazing a solo that rivaled G. Love’s from the night before, all the while John stepped up to what is normally Chris’s percussion set, laying down a hip swaying beat on the hand skins. The hosts and Djs from WBRU began to chatter as I slipped toward the back of the room closer to some friends I’d brought, my girlfriend and the bar while letting the next band’s fans fill the floor.
Tim Crowley of Baylock at Lupo's
Next to the stage was For the Love of Sloane, once they took to the stage I understood why almost every chick in the place was wearing a stylized heart T-shirt. Rocking hard and getting the crowd pumped, I was quite impressed with the power of the lead vocals from front-woman Elese. I enjoyed their set even while not familiar with their volume of work and will be checking out more of their stuff as I get more time. The final act of the night was Fairhaven and definitely benefited from the full room. They played a good piano driven set and had quite a few fans going crazy for their harmonies. Hosting some friends for the weekend we decided it was time to take off after a few songs, eventually Fairhaven took home the title of Rockhunt Champion. While not a bad choice, I was disappointed for my friends in Baylock. Overall assessment of the night: See Baylock, See For the Love of Slone, See Fairhaven, See The [Viennagram] if you like Marilyn Manson or are sado-masochistic.
