HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
By Kimberly Egolf, Contributing Editor
2007.02
On this past wintry and windy Sunday evening, Under the Influence of Giants brought their inspiring brand of dance-pop sunshine to warm up local Boston bar, Great Scott. A small crowd filled the floor as these four SoCal boys, disguised in winter coats appropriate to the 12 degree weather, hung out next to the bar’s bathroom and waited for their crew to finish setting up the stage. When ready, they shed the coats and quietly assumed the stage to check sound levels.
As the last strains of the tune-up by his bandmates faded, Singer Aaron Bruno jumped onto the stage and announced, “We’re here to have a great time and we hope you’ll join us!” The small crowd’s enthusiastic cheering and applause launched the Giants into an exciting set.
The first three songs were “for people to move around,” as Bruno implored. And the beer-holding Bostonians moved as much as they dared without spilling their precious alcohol. High-powered album tracks “Ah ha” and “Got Nothing” —with their themes of love, loss, and solace—motivated the first sing-along of the night. Danceable grooves and pitch-perfect falsetto evoked sonic visions of color-changing dance floors, disco balls, and polyester, clearly revealing the Giants’ indebtedness to the disco era.
Non-album tracks “Beautiful” and “Daysleeper” followed the opening salvo with a more laid-back groove. While the album is centered on an energetic, Bee Gees-like dance sound, these two songs gave the band a chance to demonstrate some more of those influences in their name. “Beautiful” featured a syncopated groove reminiscent of salsa music and overlaid with a synthesizer riff straight out of the eighties. “Daysleeper” —dedicated to “the lazy folks” —was the most surprising track of the evening with its Zeppelin-esque moments of psychedelia (think “No Quarter” or “When the Levee Breaks”). David Amezcua’s fuzzy bassline and Jamin Wilcox’s slow beats provided the perfect grounding for Bruno’s soaring falsetto vocals and guitarist Drew Stewart’s intense solo work.
At this point in the show, technical difficulties stalled the music but not the energy. The band compensated for any lull in the festivities by breaking out their hit song “Mama’s Room.” They grinned widely as the audience sang along and reveled in this ode to illicit lovemaking.
“Heaven is Full” featured another scalding guitar solo by Stewart, followed by the melancholy “Meaningless Love” in which the band members switched places for a few moments of jamming, showing their versatility as musicians. “Faces” brought the dance power back into the room, belying the song’s dark theme of disillusionment.
The Giants literally closed their set with a scream; Bruno howled into the microphone as Amezcua, Stewart, and Wilcox launched into the song slated to be the Giants’ next single. “In the Clouds” stole the entire show. This buoyant song about getting “high” —on life, love, and success—got the crowd moving and singing. Halfway through, the Giants broke it down to bass groove and drum skins while Bruno exhorted the audience to clap along. They happily obliged and even began to dance; the beers now finished and beginning to take effect.
The band chose not to perform an encore, leaving the audience with only one regret for the evening—we didn’t get enough! Without elaborate lights or stage gimmicks, the Giants made us dance and their uniquely influenced pop songs warmed us up on that cold Boston night.
Boston band The Daily Pravda brought their Bowie-inspired rock to the stage in support of the Giants. Though the small audience was largely unresponsive to the witty stage banter of the band, the band persevered and finally let the music speak for itself: songs like “September,” “Holidays,” and their popular single “She’s So Mature” showcased the band’s self-described “Ziggy Stardust meets American Psycho” sound and earned enthusiastic applause.
Under the Influence of Giants is on tour in the US and Europe throughout February and March. Their debut album, as well as The Daily Pravda’s “She’s So Mature” EP, can be purchased on iTunes.
Under the Influence of Giants on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thegiants
The Daily Pravda on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thedailypravda
2007.02
On this past wintry and windy Sunday evening, Under the Influence of Giants brought their inspiring brand of dance-pop sunshine to warm up local Boston bar, Great Scott. A small crowd filled the floor as these four SoCal boys, disguised in winter coats appropriate to the 12 degree weather, hung out next to the bar’s bathroom and waited for their crew to finish setting up the stage. When ready, they shed the coats and quietly assumed the stage to check sound levels.
As the last strains of the tune-up by his bandmates faded, Singer Aaron Bruno jumped onto the stage and announced, “We’re here to have a great time and we hope you’ll join us!” The small crowd’s enthusiastic cheering and applause launched the Giants into an exciting set.
The first three songs were “for people to move around,” as Bruno implored. And the beer-holding Bostonians moved as much as they dared without spilling their precious alcohol. High-powered album tracks “Ah ha” and “Got Nothing” —with their themes of love, loss, and solace—motivated the first sing-along of the night. Danceable grooves and pitch-perfect falsetto evoked sonic visions of color-changing dance floors, disco balls, and polyester, clearly revealing the Giants’ indebtedness to the disco era.
Non-album tracks “Beautiful” and “Daysleeper” followed the opening salvo with a more laid-back groove. While the album is centered on an energetic, Bee Gees-like dance sound, these two songs gave the band a chance to demonstrate some more of those influences in their name. “Beautiful” featured a syncopated groove reminiscent of salsa music and overlaid with a synthesizer riff straight out of the eighties. “Daysleeper” —dedicated to “the lazy folks” —was the most surprising track of the evening with its Zeppelin-esque moments of psychedelia (think “No Quarter” or “When the Levee Breaks”). David Amezcua’s fuzzy bassline and Jamin Wilcox’s slow beats provided the perfect grounding for Bruno’s soaring falsetto vocals and guitarist Drew Stewart’s intense solo work.
At this point in the show, technical difficulties stalled the music but not the energy. The band compensated for any lull in the festivities by breaking out their hit song “Mama’s Room.” They grinned widely as the audience sang along and reveled in this ode to illicit lovemaking.
“Heaven is Full” featured another scalding guitar solo by Stewart, followed by the melancholy “Meaningless Love” in which the band members switched places for a few moments of jamming, showing their versatility as musicians. “Faces” brought the dance power back into the room, belying the song’s dark theme of disillusionment.
The Giants literally closed their set with a scream; Bruno howled into the microphone as Amezcua, Stewart, and Wilcox launched into the song slated to be the Giants’ next single. “In the Clouds” stole the entire show. This buoyant song about getting “high” —on life, love, and success—got the crowd moving and singing. Halfway through, the Giants broke it down to bass groove and drum skins while Bruno exhorted the audience to clap along. They happily obliged and even began to dance; the beers now finished and beginning to take effect.
The band chose not to perform an encore, leaving the audience with only one regret for the evening—we didn’t get enough! Without elaborate lights or stage gimmicks, the Giants made us dance and their uniquely influenced pop songs warmed us up on that cold Boston night.
Boston band The Daily Pravda brought their Bowie-inspired rock to the stage in support of the Giants. Though the small audience was largely unresponsive to the witty stage banter of the band, the band persevered and finally let the music speak for itself: songs like “September,” “Holidays,” and their popular single “She’s So Mature” showcased the band’s self-described “Ziggy Stardust meets American Psycho” sound and earned enthusiastic applause.
Under the Influence of Giants is on tour in the US and Europe throughout February and March. Their debut album, as well as The Daily Pravda’s “She’s So Mature” EP, can be purchased on iTunes.
Under the Influence of Giants on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thegiants
The Daily Pravda on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thedailypravda
