Indie Week Festival – Day 1
By: Curtis Sindrey
The night begins with drizzling rain and road rage, and ends with a bang. While I am being handed my press pass and goodie bag, I can already tell that I wasn’t wasting my time by checking out this gig.
The venue is subpar and filled with media and musicians alike. The show kicks off with an Irish performer named Simon Fagan. He seamlessly blends gospel and folk with acoustic rock to creative a gigantic Americana sound.
Before the gig, I knew little of this guy and I knew little of his music. From the reviews I read, he is highly praised in both Ireland and North America.
He plays soulful ballads that touch your soul, even if you don’t have one. He was a stark contrast to the next band coming up.
The Australian alternative rock band Roymackonkey took the stage next with a powerful stage presence.
From the outright imposing vocals of front man John Coulehan, to the mind-melting power of lead guitarist Darryl Barba, with the soulful bass of Brian McLeod, and the thunder of drummer Fletcher Bowman.
PLUS, John is nice enough to give me a free copy of their latest cd.
Next up is a band hailing from Athens, Greece, called Berlin Brides. They have a europop kind of feel and the energy from the band is ridiculous. You don’t need to hail from Europe to enjoy this band, with catchy hooks and attractive female vocalists, you could be from just about anywhere.
Natasha, lyricist and lead vocalist and Marilena, keyboardist extraordinaire, gave a combustible performance with their darkly comedic lyrics and their fun, energetic stage presence.
The last band I catch that night is an Irish band called The Whatmans.
Despite my best intentions, I thought their performance lacked energy and a strong stage presence. They are mostly forgettable with predictable lyrical content and a cocky front-man.
- Curtis Sindrey
Whatmans – I talked to them that night and a they were mostly jetlagged and 2 of them were highly hungover from the previous nights festivities.