The Crofoot - Pike Room - Pontiac
Opening for The Features
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| Cover art for Hollerado's new album, White Paint. |
Friday night we wanted to see an artist and a band we absolutely love at the Dakota Tavern: Old Man Luedecke and The Wheat Pool. Silly us. After an expensive cab ride because we were late, we wilted at the sight of the long line. S2W's media pass meant immediate entry, but N2D of the lowly wristband had to wait in line.
Always the gentleman, S2W refused. After realizing entry was futile, we took another expensive cab ride to catch part of Sloan at Yonge-Dundas Square. They were good, but hungry and dispirited we made our way to the nearby Hard Rock Cafe. And found out Hollerado were playing there. It was only a year after they self-released their first album, the rock-solid Record in a Bag, but obvious that a lot of people had the record out of the bag.
It was like the heavens opened and beautiful music spilled out and fountains erupted and the sun shined down on us-- okay, so it was the band cranking through irresistibly fun singalongs like "Riverside" and "Got to Lose," spraying beer at the ceiling in unison and confetti raining down. By the time the show was over, we'd had the time of our lives, and it was all worth it (just don't ask us what it took to get home that night).
We still keep some of that confetti in our backpack.
Hollerado are very like a college student, balancing classes and partying. They sound like they're not taking anything too seriously, and yet writing about death, World War II, doing creative presentations on Americanarama, and referencing Kurt Vonnegut. If Record in a Bag was a freshman, the long-awaited follow-up White Paint is absolutely a sophomore. They've matured a bit, but they're still having a good time.
Photos: Russ Gordon/N2D Images
