Photos by Marc Fong // Written by Molly Kish //
NOISE POP 2014 //
Rogue Wave with Trails and Ways, Wymond Miles //
The Chapel — San Francisco
Sunday March 2nd, 2014 //
Closing out an epic 22nd year of Noise Pop Festival celebrations, The Chapel hosted 2014’s final performance featuring a local lineup of Wymond Miles, Trails and Ways and Rogue Wave. An afternoon show at the intimate venue, this mid-day finale was a family friendly occasion marking both festival debuts and joyous homecomings for the acts involved.
San Francisco local Wymond Miles kicked off the early evening, mentioning how convenient the commute was from his Mission District residence and giving the crowd background on his time spent recording bi-coastally at local studios and as a member of the Brooklyn-based record label, Sacred Bones. He rocked a humble solo guitar jam for the half-filled venue, incorporating songbook storytelling and his own personal narratives throughout. Addressing the presence of underage audience members, Miles called attention to his own children whom looked on from the upstairs balcony, adorably referencing song titles and personal anecdotes attributed to his son and daughter throughout his set.
Oakland’s own Trails and Ways took the stage next, making their festival debut, literally beaming with excitement to be a part of the closing bill. Front man Keith Brower Brown could barely contain himself from gushing over how much fun they were having and what a great honor it was to be included in the Noise Pop 2014 line up. Their multi-lingual guitar driven pop invigorated the festival-weary crowd and got the audience’s feet moving as the venue started to fill. The modest stage presence of the gender-mixed foursome somewhat diluted the energy they brought to the stage, however the band remained intriguingly adorable due to their mixed bag of musical talent and refreshingly unabashed enthusiasm.
Closing out the evening, Noise Pop veterans and local indie-favorites Rogue Wave walked on stage to a rockstar welcome. Introducing their new guitarist along with fellow tour mate and stand in drummer for the evening Brian Moen from Peter Wolf Crier, the venue packed in instantaneously. Playing their first show of 2014 as a full unit and verbally expressing how elated they were to be chosen as “the classy act” to close out Noise Pop, they had fans eating out of the palm of their hands as soon as lead singer Zach Rogue commenced his signature sassy banter.
Pulling tracks from their extensive catalogue of over a decade’s worth of material, the band started the set off by debuting newer tracks, then they eased into old favorites, along with a stellar cover of the Smashing Pumpkins “1979”. Witty exchanges continually were passed off between Rogue and Pat Spurgeon, who relinquished his percussion duties to man the keyboard and “test out his brand new Theremin” he recently acquired while visiting the MOG factory on tour.
After nearly an hour-long performance, Rogue Wave ended their initial set shredding through an extended version of “Harmonium”, then they switched back to their original line up for the triple encore of “California”, “Endless Shovel” and “Everyone Wants To Be You”. Whether it was the mood, atmosphere or finally a configuration that truly emphasizes the talented group of performers the current roster encompasses, this performance was a testament to Rogue Wave’s musical evolution and place in Noise Pop Festival history.
A perfect end to an epic festival, the band delivered as a closing act demonstrating excellent showmanship & exciting crowd interaction, fluidly transitioning out of the daytime hours into what the band had promised to deliver from the start — a performance that “felt like a night show” all along.
Great cover shot!