5/31 Halfstride opening for Big Wreck at Electric City
First time at Electric City and being on a guest list for a show!
Arrived at the Hunt gallery by bike at 7:00pm for the opening of Kids Table, an exhibit put on by their graduating residents. Some of my friends have their art in the showing, so I wanted to go out and support them before the show. The moment I walk in, I hear a woman tell her husband, "Bryan, I'm going to start my art collecting career by buying one of these pieces." Which is a wild sentence to hear, but I also love to hear it, knowing locally made art will be sold. There is someone sitting against the corner window sketching the gallery. I always love seeing art occur in places of art. It's reflective of art through time: art that has been completed and then art that is in the process of being created. I find those spaces very inspirational.
I was catching up with my friend, Wavy, who's one of the artists in the exhibit. I really like her use of fabric and other materials to create a rippling effect on her art akin to veiled marble statues. I was in the process of telling her about that, but then she says, "Sorry, I have to go. My mom wants to take a picture with me." Which I love. Moms rule, especially when they're super proud of their children.
I only had a quick half hour there and then had to make my way biking over to Electric City to get there by 7:30pm. After parking my bike out front, I see Madison Rich's whole crew: parents, siblings, partner, and friends. Great timing for me. Madison is the drummer for Half Stride. They are a brand new Buffalo band that has just formed six weeks prior to their first show. Madison was thankfully able to get me on the guest list for the show, as I wanted to come but didn't have any money left this month for another concert, as that is where all my money is going nowadays.
We get through security and I go up to the will call desk and give them my name. “Hmm, is it possibly under another name? I don't see Tim Madden on here.” Uh oh. They have to get a manager involved to run someone up to the green room and check with Madison. I later found out after the show that someone poked their head in and said, “Do y'all know a Tim Madden? He said he's on your guest list.” “Oh yeah, we know him. He's good.” was the reply. The front desk guy gets a signal on his walkie-talkie and I'm all set to go in!
I joined back up with my crew to grab drinks and find a spot for the show. We make our way to the front stage right. This is my first time at Electric City, a venue I wouldn't have had the chance to visit until September when Spoon comes to town. It was also my first time being on the guest list for a show, so it was already a very exciting night for me!
The band started fresh at 8pm. Three songs in, they formally introduce themselves: “Hello! We are Halfstride and this is our debut set!” They're holding the crowd well; people are tuned into their performance, the audience is dancing, and they sound great! It can be a tough job as an unknown opener to capture the audience's attention. I always love to catch the opener; it's a great way to find a new band that you'll love because typically the band you are paying to see chose that band to open, so that is a pretty good recommendation you want to tune in to. In this case, though, they were filling in for Big Wreck's tour opener who couldn't perform in Buffalo.
Half way through their set I realize that having two drinks makes my job harder. I had a water and a Labatt Blue in my hands and if I was inspired to write something I’d have to set my drinks down, whip out my phone and jot it down quick. Tough to write when my hands are filled. They have a ripper of a jam on their fourth song. Yes, the drummer is my friend but honestly I am a big fan of their sound.
My intro to Electric City is great. They’ve got an awesome dance floor set up there. There are pillars for structural support but they’re also padded when you need them for worst case for crowd control to break up a mosh pit that gets too rowdy. They have multiple bars so it is always easy to get a drink.
At a show, there is always “that guy” which falls into a variety of categories. I ended up being “that guy” trying to record a video but my flash was on. My first reaction was Oh no I am that guy. Then, Clara (which you may remember from the Chappell Roan show) poked fun at me by saying “You’re that guy!” cause I took a video and my flash went off so funny. Scott laughed at me too. Its all good and fun. It happens just be mindful of when your flash is on because you do not want to disrupt the experience for the crowd around you.
These guys are really good. They just played a nice dancing beat with a steady groove on the drums. One of their songs carried an essence of Radiohead musically but was missing Thom Yorke's crooning vocals. It was a great song. Jake asked me, "What do you want to drink?" which opens up a great bit of advice I got from my dad. When someone asks you what you want to drink, respond with, "Well, what are you drinking?" It's always good to match people's vibes and share in what they're partaking in for a show.
These guys are doing a really good job presenting themselves to a substantial crowd at a historic venue. They're killing it, especially because no one has even had a chance to listen to them. They're brand new. Their next song is like an old country western drum beat, and it's great. It has a good rhythm, of course. A lot of great parties have had that beat going all night and the dancing that goes along with that.
At the start of their next song, Justin yells, "Drum solo!" I love when friends of the band play with them while they're on stage; it creates a fun atmosphere to enjoy the show.
A good introduction is essential. When the introduction is for a band, that's a beautiful start to a conversation. The band’s lead, Gabe, started with the bassist: "To my right on the bass, we've got Conn Sullivan! Take it away, buddy." Then, Conn goes into a bass solo. "Then for the drums, I mean you can't have a rock band without the drums. We've got the one and only Madison Rich with us! So Madison, give it to them!" says Gabe as Madison dips into a solo groove.
The time is almost out and there is some talk on stage if they can push out one more song. Without much hesitation they send right into it. I actually recognize this one from one of the demos Madison sent me! The song is called “Amber”. They finish strong with lots of excitement successfully making their debut and warming up the crowd for the main act.
After the opening act, I got to experience something new. Being part of the crew that are there for the opener. I have seen these parties within the party of the show occur but this is my first time being part of one. It was great to experience.
“I’m not biased he’s the best drummer in the world!” - his sister Clara
That was pretty sick and I’m biased too but they actually crushed it. I am super excited for their next show at Mohawk Place on 7/13 and their album they are currently recording.
Similar to when your friends invite you out to a band you don’t know for a show, go out when your friends who play in the band invite you and go support them. I love a group of people that loves when someone they’ve been waiting to join like a person, a crowd, a family, a band, a community and they celebrate their welcoming to that party no matter how small or big with lots of love. This thought was inspired when Halfstride made it back to us after they finished and being greeted with the warmest of welcomes and congratulations.
Big Wreck stared at 9:04 pm and they’re crushing it. Their drummer does throw down. After hearing some double bass drum, I wonder if they’ll do some heavy metal because they can definitely drum it. After Madison gave me the layout of the what the Tralf (previous venue in the same space) used to be like it’s so cool to hear how things have evolved for the better. The new space here is great. Security was easy, it’s easy to get a drink, the crew working is awesome and the bathrooms are great.
It's always nice seeing a band's anthem - the song that the crowd sings along to. It's really good to see even if you're not familiar with it. It's also interesting to pick up on what makes a song an anthem: “I have something to say and I know I'm not alone.” It's nice to catch that fresh debut off an album of someone's story and see what anthems they are writing. I also was right; there was definitely some heavy metal that out that night. At 9:34pm, the drummer is really good, and the lead brought out a double-neck guitar for a sick jam filled with shredding.
Clara asked, “Do you have any toothpicks?” She doesn't want any, but she likes to brag about it, which I find so funny. Come find me at a show and ask for a flavored toothpick! Madison told me I gotta give the band some fashion tips put on by Jess. I am absolutely flattered. I was finally able to meet Gabe, the lead guitarist of Halfstride, for a quick introduction. He said he has been reading my stuff already! Which was a shock to me, to meet someone that has read my stuff without knowing me. Very excited for what this band has in store. Big Wreck finished the night strong for my first show at Electric City.
Halfstride arises from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The music is subjected to temperatures greater than 150 to 200 °C (300 to 400 °F) and, often, elevated pressure of 100 megapascals (1,000 bar) or more, causing profound physical or chemical changes. During this process, the band remains mostly in the solid state, but gradually recrystallizes to a new texture or mineral composition. We play our own brand of igneous, sedimentary, or existing metamorphic rock. The band’s configuration is made up of Gabriel Birkby (guitar, vocals), Conn Sullivan (bass, vocals), and Madison Rich (drums, other percussion). Follow them at @halfstrideband on Instagram to stay tuned into their new releases and up and coming shows. Their next show is at Mohawk Place on 7/13!
Photo Context: Taken 5/30 at Ironworks seeing Zuffalo and Magic Bean perform. My buddy asked “Let me take a picture of you for your blog”. Thank you Andrew <3.