By Jacqueline Moore //
The Drums with Stef Chura, Soccer Mommy //
The Fillmore – San Francisco
July 21st, 2017 //
The Fillmore is known as a SF music staple due to its long history dating back to the early 1900’s. Starting as a dance hall, it grew in the late 60’s and became a pinnacle of creative music making and live performance, continuing down that path ever since. Along with its ballroom-style layout, it proved to be the perfect setting to watch The Drums perform for a sold-out crowd on a Friday night.
Nashville native and 19-year-old DIY rocker Sophie Allison kicked off the evening with her solo project known as Soccer Mommy. Allison gets personal in her songs as she reveals her experiences with relationships gone wrong and reflects on the bittersweet feeling of being a teenager. Currently signed to Fat Possum Records, her maturity is well beyond her years. Her performance was playful, rhythmic and leisurely as she spilled out her heart to the audience with songs that included hits such as “Allison” and “Henry”.
Shortly after Soccer Mommy’s set, Detriot’s own Stef Chura commanded the stage with her upbeat, yet fuzzed-out/DIY style, giving off the vibe that Chura was an indie-rock force to be reckoned with. Her band’s flavor and grit quickly separated themselves from the artists you would normally find opening for an act like The Drums.
Stef Chura
Songs such as “Spotted Gold” and the gleaming guitar jam “You” were layered with emotion and unique rhythms that had the crowd singing and dancing along. Chura’s debut LP Messes came out back in January via Urinal Cake Records after working with drummer Ryan Clancy (Jamaican Queens, JR JR) and multi-instrumentalist Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me) in the studio.
By the time The Drums took the stage, the intimate venue was packed to the brim with fans. The Brooklyn outfit made as much of an impression as it did when frontman Jonathan Pierce and company exploded onto the scene in 2009 with their initial EP Summertime! From then on, it became glaringly obvious with their eccentric band members and seemingly effortless style that they possessed an energetic presence. And at their SF show, it didn’t take long for the capacity crowd to fall into a groove as the venue’s whole atmosphere lit up.
During The Drums’ set, Pierce projected a primal, uplifting energy as he twirled all across the stage and interacted with the crowd. The band played a mix of old and new songs, including such popular hits as “Let’s Go Surfing” and “Down By The Water”, both of which caused the audience to go wild. On this night, The Drums sounded rather polished, and with their fans’ energy becoming increasingly evocative, the evening ended on quite a high note.
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