Never Shout Never
February 24, 2015
In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake City’s been going through a dry spell recently, we haven’t gotten much snow but that doesn’t mean that our music scene has gone cold. Just this week we were treated to Never Shout Never’s Mid Winter’s Nights Dream Acoustik Tour with special guests Hayley Kiyoko and Me Like Bees.
The crowd had filled The Venue to the brim; fans were already excited to get a glimpse of Never Shout Never even before the opening band. After enough suspense had filled the air, the first band to come on stage was one hailing from Never Shout Never’s hometown of Joplin, Missouri. Me Like Bees started off their set with The Fifteenth day, a good taste of what was yet to come. They followed with The Ides, Comet and the Snail, Ra Ra etc. and Naked Trees. Each one of their songs was filled with a nice balance of that indie folk sound with a strong tone of alternative influences. Their last song Lazarus (the man who died and rose again, and died again) brought the tone down to a slow satisfying finish for the group.
The second headliner on the tour was Hayley Kiyoko performing songs from her debut album This Side of Paradise. She’s a multitalented actress and musician most recognized for her role in Wizards of Waverly Place but don’t let her old work fool you this girl is one to rock the indie music scene. She kicked off her set with This Side of Paradise, letting the electro synth accent her light vocals nicely. Her passion really kicked up when she started her next song Cliffs Edge, filled with a nice range of cool tones and moderate bass the crowd really took an ear to her sound. Kiyoko kept the crowd moving with Feeding the Fire, Girls Like Girls and Given It All. With her last song being Given it all she had everyone dancing and swaying to the beat. As the last notes of her song faded she thanked the crowd and informed them where she would be to greet fans and take photos.
As the final intermission came to an end you could almost feel how tense the air was, everyone was in a quiet chatter waiting for what was to come. Screams filled the air as Never Shout Never took the stage. Christopher Drew Ingle stepped up and greeted the crowd, opening with one of his original songs from their the Summer EP: On the Brightside(Six Feet Tall). As the song kept going so did the singing; line after line, chorus after chorus the crowd threw their voices and they resonated with Ingle’s. After the first, the band set up for their next song, Piggy Bank. Still as charismatic as ever Never Shout Never playfully tuned their harmonica, kazoo and ukulele while fans laughed and cheered for them. The song had everyone in full swing, tapping their feet to the beat, clapping or singing; finishing nicely with the buzz of that kazoo. Continuing along with their set, fans heard all sorts of classics; Love Is Our Weapon, Sacrilegious, What is Love from their What Is Love album. In between sets guitarist Ian Crawford and Ingle made a few jokes as well, making animal noises, teasing each other and just all around being lighthearted and silly. The group as a whole acts like old friends, just playing songs and entertaining the crowd, they even did their own rendition of The White Stripe’ 7 Nation army letting the outro fade with their kazoo.
With time drawing closer to the hour, Never Shout Never continued on with the final songs of their set. Magik, Lost At Sea and Maybe were among the last songs to have been heard by the crowd. With the emotions in the room having been charged all night everything finally slowed down as Never Shout Never stepped down from the stage and took their bows; that is before they got back up to play one last song. For their finale they split the crowd in two, one side singing with Ingle and Crawford, and the other with Taylor MacFee and Hayden Kaiser. California’s upbeat rhythm and harmonious vocals were brought together for a spectacular end with the crowd singing the final “La, la, la’s” of the song. The band now took their leave, once again thanking fans, supporters and friends of the band.
Don’t wait until the snow melts on this one, only two more weeks until Mid-Winter’s Night’s Dream Acoustik Tour draws to a close.
Review by: Max Christopher Prada
