Images: Twin Cities, Groomlake, Mercy Music, Blast Flashes May 17, 2016 at The Warehouse

Twin Cities and Groomlake kicked off their spring tour last week with a hometown show at The Warehouse. I’ve been to quite a few shows there lately, due to it being one of this city’s only all-ages, smaller sized venues. If you haven’t been there, this place reminds me a lot of the Artistic Armory, only quite a bit smaller. Being that it’s still a new venue, things are constantly changing inside and this time, the walls have been painted a cozy shade of black. I really like this place and hope it lasts for a long time.

The show itself was an all locals affair, kicking off with Blast Flashes. They’re a new band to the scene, having played their first show a little over a month ago. I’d never heard of them and was unfamiliar with their music, but my ears liked what they heard! The music was heavy on intricate instrumentation. The music itself was like poetry with a rock and roll vibe, which was a contrasted nicely with the shouted vocals. The crowd seem to be digging it, bobbing their heads to the beat of the drums.

How many local bands do you get hooked on from a commercial? Because that was my experience with the next band on the bill. Mercy Music hooked me when they were in the the Life is Beautiful commercial and ever since I’ve tried to make it a point to catch them when they play all-ages shows. This local Vegas band will hopefully go far, and their performance is always a pleasure to see! From bassist Jarred Cooper jumping and using as much space as possible to drummer Rye Martin helping with backup vocals while being a badass drummer to Brendan Scholz on vocals doing guitar solos, this is a band you need to see in your life. Sadly, the crowd wasn’t as full as it should be for a band this good.

Now it was time for the first of the night’s headliners. Groomlake is an indie rock band with a heavy emphasis on their strong instrumental talent. The band excels at using instrumental breaks to create moods, from the wistful to the melancholy. There’s just something so engaging about this band when seeing them live.

Closing out the night was Twin Cities and I’m not lying when I say I haven’t been able to get their song “Youngstown” out of my head since first hearing it. The band is just that good, amazing me from the first time I was lucky enough to catch them live. Vocalist Macario, who also runs The Warehouse, has one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard, delicate yet powerful. I can’t wait for more people to discover them on this tour.

-Margaret Schmitt | http://margaretschmitt.wix.com/margaretschmitt