By Tom Dellinger //
NOISE POP 2014
The Soft White Sixties, NO (LA), The SHE’S, Cannons and Clouds //
The Chapel — San Francisco
February 28, 2014 //
Noise Pop was in full swing Friday night at several venues throughout San Francisco and at The Chapel, on Valencia, the venue was serving up a deep sampling of four bands, featuring local sensations The Soft White Sixties as the headliner.
From the start, the music was strong as things kicked off with Cannons and Clouds, who were followed by the gentler style of The SHE’S. Things again picked up as the LA based band NO took the stage and delivered an excellent, polished set which was then followed by the much anticipated performance from The Soft White Sixties, who exploded onto the stage and gave a flawless, high energy performance to a loud and appreciative sold out house.
There were some sound problems early in the night, but the audio continued to improve as the evening went on and by the time NO hit, it was sounding on point. Good thing too, because this band offers some sensational songs with dense instrumentation. They have a very engaging stage presence as lead singer, Bradley Hanan Carter, intensely works the stage and sings with passion. Backed with a large, multi-layered sound from the band and rich backing vocals, it quickly became evident that this is a band with depth, leaving an intrinsic desire to see and hear them again when they return to SF. They proved to be an excellent lead-in to headliner, The Soft White Sixties.
As TSWS was about to hit, the house became noticeably packed, and the crowd hummed excited with anticipation. Before it started, this evening had the feeling it was going to be one of those more memorable performances. With a SXSW run on the very-near-horizon, this band has serious potential to explode on the music scene, and that feeling was confirmed as soon as they hit their opening note.
Dressed well for the occasion, the band was on fire from the start. Lead vocalist, Octavio Genera was instantly wooing the crowd as he effortlessly danced and sang up and down the length of the stage with explosive dance moves. He has a voice that is both smooth and soulful with an edge of grit and growl. These are vocals that are well suited to their songs, which are reminiscent of some of the best rock and soul from the past.
This band excels at hard-driving rock, which they delivered in a big way many times throughout the night with well-placed lighter songs to bring things back to earth once in a while. In essence, The Soft White Sixties curate a well-paced show. After their set of about an hour and a half, it was confirmed that this was one of those performances that will be well remembered. Surely, TSWS are destined to launch onto larger stages and broader success as a band. Ready and poised, all the ingredients are there.
Soft White future sounds and looks bright. Shine bright @ SXSW!