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KRIS HARRIS
Special to the Leader
It was a full house on Thursday, Sept. 24, as people were overflowing from BJ’s to see the three bands that were on the bill for that night: New Masons, Mooses and Sleepy Hahas.
New Masons was first to the stage, kicking off the night with atmospheric synth pads and tight grooves. The band consists of Michael Gonzalez-Kelly, senior music business major, on voice; Deanna Civilette, senior music education major, on keyboard and voice; Jimmy Hartmann, senior music education major, on synths; Jake Lorefice, junior music education major on bass; and the new drummer John Greenan, sophomore music business major, thrown into the mix. But the new member did not phase the group at all as they played throughout their set.
Photo by Corey Maher
Many things have been going on for the band since it released a new EP last month called “Sorry, Jill,” off of which a few songs were played during the night. Physical copies were available for sale, with each individual copy having its own unique hand-drawn artwork. Manager Jack Kane, sophomore music business major, said that the idea was proposed by bassist Lorefice, and that several people had a hand in the colorful artwork, from friends to significant others and even band members.
While they played original material, the band did throw some covers into the mix, providing a funkier version of Jeremih’s “Don’t Tell Em,” displaying Gonzalez-Kelly’s rapping skills, and a remarkable rendition of The Weeknd’s latest hit, “Can’t Feel My Face.” At the end of the set, the crowd was roaring for “one more song,” but an encore regrettably was not given, as more music was to be played during the night.
While New Masons was all about clean-cut grooves, Fredonia band Mooses introduced itself with a sea of distortion that instantly filled up the bar. Everyone accepted it: the audience went from swaying side-to-side to full-on head banging. The band consisted of singer and guitarist Pete Cahlstadt, senior music business major, Jimmy DiMartino, graduate audiology student on bass and Kelly Weber, senior sound recording technology major, on drums.
Photo by Corey Maher
At first the band seemed to have a structured set of songs to play, but the performance soon fell into a straight psychedelic surf rock jam session. Lead singer Cahlstadt was a wild man on stage, hammering on his array of effect pedals and chewing on his microphone, while egging on the crowd as they went.
All sense of time was lost during their set. The set ended too quickly for the crowd, sending listeners to back to reality.
Finally the headliner, Sleepy Hahas, were up, kicking off their fall 2015 tour. Within the band were Phil Shore on synthesizer, Pat Butler with vocals and guitar, Kevin Pryles on bass and Garrett Robinson — who recently joined on Sept. 1 — on drums. Nonetheless, the band was readied with an army of synths and pedals upon the stage.
The band has been busy the past few months with the recording of their new album “From the Bottom of a Warm Lake.” The band went down to Athens, Georgia, and met up with producer Drew Vandenberg, who has worked with the likes of Toro y Moi and Of Montreal back in 2014.
“The process was amazing; the recording was amazing,” said lead singer Butler on recording in Georgia. “It’s really chill down there.”
He also added, “we did a lot of soul searching over the years, and everything seems real natural right now,” commenting on the position of the band.
The set went straight into the wee hours of the morning, as the band played a balanced mixture of hard rock, indie jams, and even some soft synth interludes. The mood was relaxed; lead singer Butler played with just socks on and asked the crowd to share a beer during the set.
Sleepy Hahas is not unfamiliar to Fredonia, as two of its members, Robinson and Butler, attended the school in the past, and they have played in town before, with members of the band being personal friends with members of Mooses.
Overall, the three bands put on amazing performances. Remember to check out all the concerts that come through BJ’s over the semester!
Photo by Corey Maher