This promising night of local music kicked off with Envie, a band whose sound has grown and changed dramatically over the last year. In its previous incarnations, Envie has been a much mellower, ethereal group which built its sound primarily around cello, harp, and piano. Now however, the group has added a more rock-oriented guitar player (3d5spd’s Chris Hoke) and has greatly picked-up the tempo of many of their songs. While Renee Nelson’s beautiful and soaring vocals still steer the songs, the guitar, bass, and full live percussion now take on a more dominant role than they did in the past. Envie’s sound has evolved from its calm and subdued beginnings into a full, operatic style of rock that is original and quite gripping; even with the more conventional instruments coming out into the forefront, the band has nevertheless carved out a very unique niche.

Up next was Hope For Agoldensummer. The band took the stage amid a variety of instruments including guitar, cello, drums (a unique setup of percussion pieces), xylophone, concertina, saw blade, and more. Honestly, there are no words to describe the immense talent of the players in this band; each one is an integral part of the overall vibe, and nothing that anyone played this night was extraneous. The band’s stage performance was refreshingly unassuming; all members were sitting, and the between-song banter was very casual and inviting. Lead vocalists (and sisters) Claire and Page traded vocal harmonies with the loose precision that you might see in a pair of old bluesmen singing on a front porch. There was no pretence in this band’s performance at all, and this mood had the effect of sucking in everyone in the rather sizeable crowd. Hell, there was even a point in which the band told the crowd a joke (apparently somewhat of a tradition for them!). Drummer Jamie Shepard played his unique setup (including a huge kick drum) with the tight minimalism that can only be executed by someone capable of much more than they are showing. Guitarist Deb Davis defied the preconceived notions that her Rockabilly appearance might encourage by handling the guitar and xylophone with virtually no twang at all; like Mr. Shepard, this performer’s playing was appropriately minimal, and presented not a single unnecessary note. Cellist Will Taylor rounded out Hope’s sound by maintaining the low tones most often created by a bass, while also constructing higher progressions that often acted as wonderful counter melodies to those of the lead vocalists. In addition to the great talent displayed by the band members individually, it would be a disservice to ignore the amazing, yet simplistic, songwriting they put forth. The songs all have the familiarity of a tune you’ve known your whole life (and yet can never recall having heard), but at no point do they sound derivative. Hope For Agoldensummer is a band that should most definitely be seen in concert; their talent cannot possibly be overstated.

all content (c) 2003 cj bargamian