WILLIAM MOHAN
Special to The Leader
The Williams Center was full of energy from various forms of musical talent that shared their love of their craft with an enthusiastic and hyper audience this past Thursday night, Feb. 26. This was all courtesy of Spectrum Entertainment Board.
Following the performance of New Masons, Spectrum Entertainment announced Hellogoodbye as the Spring headliner for April 12.
Each genre was comprised of three acts that sparked the idea that the participants were seeing not just local bands at Willy C, but that they were witnessing major bands at an actual concert arena. In particular, it was the influences that the members drew from — both in speech and song — that were clearly displayed to and envisioned by the audience. The crowd also witnessed their influences from the music scene at least once during their time on stage.
There was also a vibe that was traded from stage to audience and could have easily gone on all night. Through it all, the audience received a unique evening with blues, rock and independent genres being represented by some of the best on campus.
The first act that performed was Blue House. It was also the most unique in that member Danny Palladino was the only member. He was also personal with the audience on numerous levels.
From romance and relationships to personal calamities, Palladino did not fail to impress.
“Jokes aren’t great; music is,” he said onstage. This led up to his song “I’ve Been Running Down This Road,” after he alluded to his involvement in a car accident weeks before. However, the most dominant theme for Palladino was what moves his music constantly: his emotions.
“Whatever is happening in my life is what I write about,” said Palladino. This was especially seen in his opening song “Love Keeps Me Waiting,” and elsewhere in songs like “I Just Touched This” and “Pretty Face.” Not surprisingly there were various shouts of joy from the crowd when Palladino referred to romantic gestures on stage.
Midway through, Palladino also alluded to past influences from his Long Island home, as well as other international names in music. This was seen in his renditions of songs by Deo Meo, City and Colour, and Bob Dylan.
The next act was the first band, Kill The Clock. They were undoubtedly the most hyper of the bill that night. This was seen in their lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Brendan Hoare jumping and moving constantly. This, and their style of instruments and fashion, left impressions that would make Rolling Stones fans proud.
“We’re musicers,” said lead guitarist Joe Morganti. And it showed in songs such as “Take Me Away,” “Lover” and “Precious Stone.” The band’s performance was highlighted with the songs “The Joke’s On You,” “Go Down” and “Normal Me Too.” Like Palladino, they also found time to honor their own inspirations. In this case, it was their rendition of The Strokes’ “Improvement.”
The final act was New Masons. They provided a more gentle and relaxing approach to close out the event. Their involvement in independent rock also proved to be just the antidote for the audience to come off the high and the leftover adrenaline produced by Kill The Clock.
As far as their soundtrack for the evening was concerned, New Masons also reached out to the wild side of the crowd in a subtle way. In particular this was shown in their songs “Visceral,” “Amphitheater,” “Say Geronimo” and “I Had a Son.” While they certainly gave an ambience of groups like Journey and Foster the People, they were also the ones who had the most songs inspired by recent pop culture. The closing songs especially reflected the latter: “Gold” (“The Great Gatsby”) and “Walking Dead” (from the TV show of the same name).
In addition, New Masons also engaged the audience by allowing the band to silhouette themselves with the lights as well. Combined, all the groups were very forth-coming in how or why they started: from the origins to all their musical inspirations.
Before the show and backstage the energy was, even then, rampant. Their own backgrounds in the field of music were all very intriguing. What was uniquely diverse was why the members were billed in an arrangement as they were on Thursday.
Blue House is actually named after two parts of himself. One is what Palladino said is his “very crazy schedule,” and the second is that he does indeed live in a blue house. “You can’t miss it,” said Palladino jokingly.
As for his influences, Palladino cites many as being crucial. Besides City and Colour and his personal life, the musical acts of Brand New, Noah Gunderson and Anthony Raneri are a few. But it is Long Island as a whole that truly gives Palladino his energy. “It is the big sound that makes it unique,” he said. As to the future, he hopes to someday play in a band after graduation.
Kill The Clock said that they were formed largely in response to the new Buffalo radio station 107.7 FM that appeared on the scene in recent years. Their involvement in alternative rock results from what Hoare and drummer John Greenan said are “different tastes in differents kinds of genre.”
As for its formation, both members cite family relations and excellent connections that lead to Kill The Clock’s formation.
“I was actually a replacement for one member and then it became permanent,” said Greenan. It was a pleasure for all in attendance that they made Fredonia one of their three-times-a-month repertoire. Their passion and sound especially radiated in more ways than one.
As for future plans, Kill The Clock is presently planning a tour for a fair portion of the upper Northeast: Boston, New York and Cleveland to name a few. They are also planning a new CD with the first demo recording taking place later this year.
Perhaps the most impressive was that one of the bands had only been together for a short period of time.
“We’ve been together for about a year,” said New Masons keys and vocalist Mike Gonzalez-Kelly. The band’s choice of independent rock is also shared heavily. “It resonates collectively because we all; have different interests.”.
As to their future, Gonzalez-Kelly responded, “whatever happens.” Nevertheless, there is so much to suggest that the future is very much bright for these true Fredonians whose name is initiated from our own Mason Hall.
The lively atmosphere is what many of the musicians earlier described was what they love about performing.
“It is the first five minutes that tell the show,” said Greenan. Gonzalez-Kelly called it the “express creativity and energy.”