What were you doing Monday night? While I’m sure many have valid answers (work, school, family, etc) I can say with absolute confidence that Mud and Water was criminally under populated when Heavenly Beat and Nicholas Nicholas came through and played to a room of less than 15 people, staff included.
Despite the bands getting a late start – they were across the street at Past Times getting a bite to eat when I showed up at eight as indicated the Facebook event for the concert – the show was well worth the wait. The first act, Nicholas Nicholas, played a relatively short set of keyboard and drum-machine heavy pop songs with deep and passionate vocals and some nice guitar to cap it all off. Aside from one new song that didn’t go over very well – the band started and decided against playing it in about twenty seconds – the set was very well done, especially considering there were only two musicians in the group. The keyboard textures and punchy drums felt good bouncing all over the bar, and the delicate guitar tones somehow cut through the mix and fit over the other sounds really nicely.
Next up was the band I had originally come to see: Heavenly Beat. However, instead of seeing a few musicians playing along to some backing tracks like I had come to expect based on past live videos, I was delighted to be graced with an incredibly tight and energetic full band set. Fans and listeners of Heavenly Beat know to expect a certain aesthetic from the band’s material; however, when the songs are played in a live setting with all instruments and no recordings, they become much more hard hitting, thrilling, and decidedly less dreamy. I won’t go as far as to say that I prefer this sound to the band’s recorded material, but I have to give credit to any band who can provide a live show that puts an interesting spin on their recorded music. In fact, I found myself wondering how the Nicholas Nicholas material would translate to a more “conventional” live band setup. The band is still relatively new though, so maybe they’ll explore that in time.
Overall, I would call the show a success despite the fact that I wish more people had shown up. Though I feel that both bands deserved a much bigger turnout, maybe this review will help sway a few people in the right direction the next time these bands roll through town (and if you guys do, you’re welcome to crash on my couch again).
Show Review: Nicholas Nicholas & Heavenly Beat at Mud and Water
By Ryan Travis
March 11, 2014