I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: April 26, 2018] Overlake

My friend Al knows the members of Overlake and he thought he might be attending this show.  I was bummed he wasn’t there (and even moreso when I tried to text him to see if he was there and realized that I didn’t have his cell number, gah).

I wound up getting to the show really early and parked literally against the stage.  I was fascinated that at the start of the show all three drum sets were set up.  And how fascinating that Overlake (the opener) was right in the middle.

I looked up the band before the show and the description of the band sounded like I’d really like them:

Overlake is a three-piece band from Jersey City, comprised of Tom Barrett (voice, guitar), Lysa Opfer (Bass, voice), and Nick D’Amore (drums).  When they’re not incessantly waxing philosophical about the musical merits of both MBV and GBV … Overlake is busy honing their own unique brand of noisy dreampop, drawing from such stalwart influences as Dinosaur Jr, Slowdive, and Yo La Tengo.

And indeed, there was a huge My Bloody Valentine element to the band.  I loved the wall of noise (both melodic and otherwise) that Barrett’s guitar created.  It was anchored perfectly by Opfer’s bass–the perfect low end rumble.

And D’Amore’s drums were really fun–chaotic and never metronomic.

They played six songs (according to the setlist).  And there was a great diversity in the music.  I was too close to the stage but I could hear him sing fine when the guitars were quiet.  When the guitar parts roared, I couldn’t hear him very well–this is the problem with being too close.

But musically, the quiet/loud sound was perfect.

Most of their songs were on the longer side.  There were times when they jammed out the ends (and had fun with the lights, too).

I loved “Travelogue” (which I heard as “Travelodge,” which I think is a hilarious title).  This was a show highlight and the wild cacophy at the end of the song was awesome.

This is not a question for them, but I wonder when musicians started leaving on looping pedals of noise while they tuned?  I’ve seen a number of bands do it and it’s a good way to keep the room from getting too quiet between songs.  The problem for Overlake was that Barrett talked while the noisy looping was going on so I could never hear him.

Opfer came over by us a few times during the set and after the show when she was clearing her gear I high-fived her, which is pretty cool.

I especially enjoyed the show ender “You Don’t Know Everything.”  The band was really into it and the lighting was used very effectively.  The stage was pretty dark for much of the set so it was nice to actually see them during this last song.

Winter is Why
New
And Again
Travelogue
Gardener’s Bell
You Don’t Know Everything