Review: Colony House

Off the release of their sophomore album, Only the Lonely, Colony House is on a headlining tour in support of the album. Not knowing what to expect, I was left breathless after their show at Portland's Doug Fir Lounge.

The Doug Fir Lounge is one of my favorite venues in Portland. The concert venue is located in the basement of a restaurant/bar, and is complete with a full bar in the back which overlooks the stage. With a capacity of roughly 300, this beautiful venue creates an intimate setting, complimentary and perfect for the shows they host. Colony House was no exception.

Visually, the show was stunning. The band was surrounded and silhouetted by lights, and behind them stood a large LED screen that took up the entire stage. Notable examples of images displayed on the screen were the final scene from the movie “Hook”, a 3 minute and 20 second countdown for their song “3:20,” and a picture of a hawk.

What was most impressive was the actual performance given by Colony House. The band is fronted by two brothers, Caleb and Will Chapman (Vocals/Guitar, and Drums), who have a powerful connection that is obvious onstage; however, the entire band has incredible chemistry with each other. Near the end of the set, Caleb takes an acoustic guitar for a solo performance of "Moving Forward." Before starting the song, he discusses the song's origin story and comments on the music he and Will have been making together all their lives.  The song originated as a 10 second voice memo that Will pushed Caleb to write overnight. During the show Caleb notes, "If it's alright with you, I'm going to play this song for you how I originally played it that day for the guys." Near the end of the song, Will joins in on drums, while the other two members (Scott and Parke) join Caleb and share a microphone to sing the final notes of the song.

Colony House, and the "Only The Lonely" Tour is a must see. See dates and get tickets from their website, here.

Shots from the show:

Review: MUNA & Lo Moon

Lo Moon and MUNA brought an emotional, powerful, fun, intimate, and incredible experience to a sold out crowd at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge on February 11, 2017. Here is my review of the show written for KPSU.

Lo Moon

With only the debut single “Loveless” released, Lo Moon is a relatively mysterious band to much of the audience and it’s hard to know what to expect; however, the result from their performance was even more unexpected. Personally, I fall in love with many supporting acts from shows, but I’ve only been to a few where this was the case for the entire audience. There have only been a handful of shows I’ve seen crowds cheer and scream for openers, jump and move along to their music, excitedly discuss how great the band was after the set, and purchase merch/music from after the show (I witnessed Lo Moon sell out of vinyls while I was standing in the merch line). I knew Lo Moon had won the crowd when after their set I heard a man behind me scream, “Encore that shit!” MUNA couldn’t have chosen a better supporting act for their tour; Lo Moon became a favorite for everyone at Doug Fir, and anyone who showed up later in the night missed out on an incredible act.

Follow Lo Moon on twitter/instagram, and listen to their music on spotify/itunes

MUNA

I’ve seen and covered for MUNA one other time, while on tour with Grouplove (found here), but this was a completely different show and something much more special. After the release of their beautiful debut album, about u, MUNA set off on their first headlining tour. If the night couldn’t be more meaningful, MUNA’s show had sold out for the first time ever, merely hours before the show had started. Being at both shows, you can feel the difference from the crowd energy and performance between a supporting and headlining show. The energy from the crowd was unbelievable, and Doug Fir being a smaller, very intimate space certainly helped. Everyone was singing and jumping along to the music, all brimming with smiles and tearing up from the performance, and MUNA was the same. The energy from band members Katie, Naomi, and Josette mirrored the crowd. All three of them were moving and dancing around on stage, smiling back and engaging with the crowd, and having the greatest time on a very special night. Vocalist Katie Gavin stopped the set early on, explaining she doesn’t normally stop the set during this part, but felt compelled to with how much that night and this audience truly meant to her. Katie further explained this was the first time they had sold out a show, and coupled with it being their first headlining tour they felt like “a real band.” This is a show I will never forget and will forever be grateful for attending and being a part of. MUNA is a very special band that stand for something so special, and their album about u is a beautiful masterpiece that (despite it being early in the year) I know will be at the top of my favorites from 2017’s releases.

Follow MUNA on twitter/instagram, and listen to their debut album about u on spotify/itunes