Bear Girl, Slowriter, & Capital Arms at Wild Bills 7/1/2014

Bear Girl, Slowriter, and Capital Arms kicked off a tour last night that covers the east coast: 14 shows from Atlanta to Buffalo, NY. 

It's a slow Friday night at Wild Bills in Gwinnett. 8:40 pm and there roughly 50 people crowded about a red and blue lit stage with a pentagram backdrop. There's a lot of flannel in this crowd. The age group here is no less than 18, no more than 25 (excluding the parental units sprinkled in and the venue’s staff).

I got there just in time to catch the last half of Hello Cobra. Elements and influences of Mastodon shape the the first song I hear this evening. A four piece band, no vocals for these fellas. Unfortunately, the drummer has to ask the sound guy to turn all of them up and a burst of feedback pollutes the air. However, it becomes obvious very quickly the noise is intended. The band is rehearsed in the execution of their rhythms, but their stage presence is lack luster and their style is more tribute than original. 
Constant directions to the sound guy is more than disturbing, it gives revelation to the lack of preparation by the band and possibly a rushed sound check. Backlash from the sound guy suggests his dedication, motivation, professionalism and respect have long faded with the color of his hair. 
I'm not too disappointed, the metal genre has somewhat reached it's creative peak in recent years as various sub genres have accumulated and rock music enthusiasts have flooded YouTube and local dive bars with mediocre and tired no-hit-wander* bands. It's unpleasant noise. 
*an artist or band that has barely created a buzz or has sizzled enough to be considered hometown famous, tours all over the metro Atlanta area, and never manages to burn a fire long or hot enough to be considered noteworthy. 


It's over? I'm slamming a shot of Jack Daniel’s.

Slowriter steps up on stage an gives tribute to Tyler Perkins, guitarist and vocalist for Bear Girl, for the majority of the work put into the booking of this tour. It's starting to fill up a little more, there's now about 75 people in the small lounge area of the club and about 50 of them are up close and personal with the modest stage. Bryan Taylor has put together an aesthetically appealing set with synced video of little kids dancing, turtles, and crowd addressing monologues by various men projected on a screen on the right if the stage. His songs feature smooth electronic backtracks while he plays guitar over them and sings original lyrics, and the drummer for Bear Girl provides rhythm support for the solo artist. This set I was actually impressed with, it’s clear Taylor has put a lot of time and effort into his unique performance and he avoids eye contact with the crowd by wearing a pair of large sunglasses on stage. Signed with Autumn and Color, Bryan Taylor will drop his new LP “King of the Void" on October 28th. 

I stepped outside for a smoke and had a chit chat with the co-owner of Autumn + Colour. It’s a decent sized independent label with a slue of various artists, 15 to be exact, ranging in many genres. He talked about the unique qualities of Slowriter and the heavy hip hop influences in the upcoming album. 


Now for Bear Girl. This trio from Atlanta has creatively blended their rock, metal, jazz, indie, and pop influences to create a sound all their own. They are upbeat and energetic, with the edge of indie rock lyrics that have a sort of dark undertone, the heavy hitting kick of a metal band, and a twist of jazz influence rhythms. I've seen them before and each time I do, I truly enjoy the show. 


The show was a success thus far, around 150 people by the end of the Bear Girl set. I didn’t get to stay for Capital Arms, but I made sure to check out their music on the way home. They will be releasing their debut EP "Land" August 5th  via Cardigan Records.

You can check out these bands and their labels via the links below. Definitely worth a listen!

Autumn + Colour
http://www.autumnandcolour.com 

Cardigan Records
http://www.cardiganrecords.com

Slowriter 
www.slowriter.org 
https://www.facebook.com/slowriter 

Bear Girl 
http://www.beargirl.net/
https://www.facebook.com/BearGirlSr 

Capital Arms 
https://www.facebook.com/capitalarms