Maurice @ Biltmore -- 02/22/12

It was the start of a busy streak of concerts last night at the Biltmore, with a couple Peak Performance Project alumni teaming up. One band who I hadn't seen since the showcases in September, regrettably, and another who I've seen a couple times since, but don't tire of seeing.

Starting off the night was Redgy Blackout, who put on a lively and fun show with their unique mix of indie rock, folk and pop. Both Scott Perrie and Jeremy Breaks have a great energy, especially during “Who Am I” -- the most upbeat songs of the set with a bit of a jazzy feel -- when Scott put down his guitar for a trumpet and was free to show off his dance moves.
They broke out a few new songs through the set, and another highlight was the beautiful "Alexandria" before they ended with a bang, another big, upbeat number, "Bottom of the Sea".

Library was up next, with some pretty middle of the road rock. They had an okay energy, but not much stage presence. And the songs were not bad, but a lot of them blended together. Even the cover of Springsteen's "Atlantic City" sounded pretty similar. It was nothing terrible, but nothing all that memorable, either.

And finally, Maurice hit the stage, including Jason Cook on drums (doing double duty, as we was with Redgy Blackout as well). They started the set off with the soaring "Big Country", getting the crowd into it. Even though it was a late start, they still managed to bring out the energy in everyone, and had a few people dancing up front, which is a credit to both their music and JP's great stage presence.
After a couple new songs, they slowed things down a little with the heartwrenching "Love Drug", featuring an electric violin, but then brought things right back up with the insanely catchy "Mistake", for which they were also joined by Stephanie Chatman on violin. The usual, and fantastic, cover of Fleetwood Mac’s "Dreams" made an appearance too, which segued into a little bit of both "Teenage Dream" and "Moves Like Jagger" at the end, awesomely and hilariously. And after the upbeat "All I Ever Wanted", they drew the set to a close with their version of Top Less Gay Love Tekno Party's "Robin", a fantastic song to wrap up the set with.

Minto with White Ash Falls @ Biltmore -- 08/10/11

I have to admit, this show wasn't on my radar at all. But when I found out a bit about White Ash Falls, and that it was only $2. why not, right?

The aforementioned White Ash Falls was up first. It's the solo project of Red Cedar's Andy Bishop, but "solo" was a little misleading, as there was seven other people up on stage with him, including Brendan Scott & Graham Jones from Yukon Blonde on guitar & drums, respectively, and Matt Kelly from Treelines on slide guitar, as well as some keys and even a violin. The band had an alt-country sound going, but weren't afraid to rock out once in a while. And even though there was a staged packed with musicians, they still had somewhat of a simple sound,
They were really fun to watch, and I would definitely think of catching them next time they play.

Library was up next -- also joined by Brendan Scott and another Yukon Blonde member, Jeff Innes on bass -- and they were pretty middle of the road rock. They didn't have too much by way of energy or stage presence either, and were just pretty generic all around. Nothing terrible, but nothing all that good or memorable.

Wrapping up the night was Minto, who had almost a prog/folk sound, they had an awesome energy and were incredibly fun to watch. With smoke filling the stage throughout the set, they combined gang-vocal harmonies and tight musicianship to put on a heck of a good show.

I'm glad I ended up going, because I ended up really enjoying both White Ash Falls and Minto. All in all, two dollars very well spent.