12 Mar Something Familiar, Something New

Allow me to share two bands I am terribly excited to see. One I have seen before, and another I cannot miss.

The first time I had the pleasure of seeing the power AWOLNATION unpacks was in Austin, before I called it home. It was a brutally hot day in 2011, a dry heat that I was not yet use to, and I was lost in a crowd of my peers waiting for a refreshing dose of music at Austin City Limits music festival. The wait was not long. Aaron Bruno, the brains and pipes behind the indie/industrial rock band, stepped out on the stage (wearing an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and blazing white pants) and delivered a sun-drenched performance I won’t soon forget.

I had recently fallen in love with their single “Sail,” which remains one of their most successful songs to date, and a handful of the other tracks on their [at the time] recent release Megalithic Symphony. The crowd was also infatuated with these tunes and proceeded to release their vitamin-D-powered energy towards the stage.

Bruno and his endlessly talented bandmates taunted the sea of fans with each track. With every dark guitar sound and hoarse lyric, the crowd surged at the stage. Crowd surfers were carried to the band’s feet, arms outstretched for sweat and sound.

During their set, Bruno performed a feat I’ve previously only seen Steve Aoki attempt. He pulled out a boogie board, a mini surfboard for crying out loud, and moved over the crowd. My pictures stand as proof. It was insane, and dare I say magical.

At the end of their set, I had been kicked in the head three times by flailing fans. It hurt like hell, but I like to think it drove the memory deep, deep into my brain.

I saw the former Home Town Hero singer and his crew once more in 2013, in a stuffy, damp club in Gainesville. The crowd and show was much more tame, but it was still phenomenal and eerie in all the right ways.

I’m delighted to see AWOLNATION for a third time during SunFest. Since my last encounter with the band, they have mastered a new album which will debut this month. We will be some of the first people to hear it live!

To hold you over, check out their single off of the new album, Run. No surprise to me, I love it. I hope you do too.

(P.S. Bruno, if you’re reading this, I was the biggest fan of Home Town Hero while I was in high school!)

I’m also delighted to see Copeland, a beautiful quartet from Lakeland, Florida, at SunFest. There are only a small handful of people in my life who can attest to my quiet love for Beneath Medicine Tree and In Motion, the band’s records from 2003 and 2005, respectively.

It has always been a hope of mine to see the indie rock band live, but when they announced they were separating in 2008, my heart broke a little. I had lost them on my radar, until now.

After six years, the Florida-grown band has reunited and released a new compilation of songs under Ixora. I know it’s appropriate to lead new listeners in with a band’s latest work, but my still-young heartstrings want you to go back to their roots.

This weekend, carve out some time for yourself in the car, in your room, during twilight, and begin with “Choose The One Who Loves You More.” Wait for the swelling feeling in your chest just seconds before the three-minute mark. It’s perfection.

Then sink your ears into “Pin Your Wings.” You should be hooked before the minute mark. These lyrics and melodies carried me through so many growing experiences, that I can only hope you can relax and picture yourself in 2005 and the people you were with.

Then I beg you to put on Ixora, and wrap yourself in the band’s new sweetness. “Ordinary” is a delicate track, with layers of pale piano and ethereal sounds. Singer Aaron Marsh’s voice is deliciously soothing.

End with “I Can Make You Feel Young Again,” because honestly Copeland can.

I cannot wait to see these men on stage. They’ll be playing at dusk on the Ford Stage on Thursday. I’ll be in the front row, singing along softly and savoring every note. I hope you will be too.