Baroness Lights Up The Commodore, A Show To See
written by Vaughn Oliver
What a show.
What an wonderful display of talent, emotion, and connection. It’s the day after I saw Baroness at The Commodore Ballroom, with supporting act Heiress, and I can’t stop buzzing about it.
I hadn’t heard much from the opening band previous to seeing them on-stage, save for part of a song or two, but Heiress‘ sludge metal grooves put me in a trance that required no preparation. I wasn’t expecting that. While there may have been a volume issue from time to time, or a musical additive that I felt wasn’t necessary to certain songs, I was impressed with the overall performance and stage presence of this band. They hung out at their merch booth after their set and, although I didn’t meet them personally, I talked with a concert-goer after the show and was shown his Heiress record he had signed by the band. I get the impression they are some great fellas who would be very fun to hang around with.
Baroness was like a dream. A heavy, melodic powerhouse with running guitars, intricate drums, groovy bass lines, and full sized synths that glue it all together. There’s so much to talk about; the roaring crowd from start to finish, the simple yet well thought out light show which accompanied each song with the color of the album it is from, Baroness is a super energetic band that never failed to entertain. It was a motivating show filled with the best sounds around. Whether you like heavier, sludge-like sounds, or are more attuned to melodious music, this act has you covered.
I wasn’t a huge Baroness fan before I saw them live. I didn’t know many of their songs, group members, themes, etc, but I did know that I wanted to see them. A friend had made a play-list of the possible set I could expect, and after giving it a single listen through I knew that I wanted to hear these tracks live. What I wasn’t expecting was the elaborate, almost choreographed, lighting production, which as I previously mentioned connected each song to the respective album color. You see, Baroness album releases have so far matched with a specific color, Red, Blue, Yellow & Green, and most recently Purple, with amazing, unique artwork done by the lead singer/guitarist, John Baizley. It’s truly the little things that leave a big impression. Not to mention their high on-stage energy which kept everyone enthralled and entertained.
I’m going to be following these fellows and their creative output for the indefinite future, and I think anyone should give themselves the chance to be wowed by this incredible band.
Check out Baroness online:
©nightMair Creative.com
all rights reserved
written by Vaughn Oliver