I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: July 30, 2024] Grocer

This was the third time I could have seen Grocer.   The first time I didn’t go to the show and the second time was when Speedy Ortiz was supposed to play this show in July.

The first song “Mating Call” opened with quiet guitars, quiet vocals from Cody Nelson and bird calls.  By the end of the song, the band was furiously singing “It powers on, but the signal’s gone.”

Up next was “Arts & Lit” sung by Nicholas Rahn.  It had an interesting riff, a jumpy melody and fun backing vocals.  I really enjoyed the sounds and effects that he used.  He had some kind of foot pedal that he slid back and forth which manipulated the sound and made his guitar soar into space.

Daniele Lovier sang “Packrat.”  She was a little too quiet in the mix at first but as the song (and the night) went on she sang louder and more intensely (especially on “Bless Me”).  And it was true each person’s song was a different style and it was cool to hear the band seamlessly play these different vibes.

It was then that I really noticed the bands’ guitars–unusual looking and with funky angles.  Turns out they were all made by Rahn including Lovier’s bass which houses a little Tasmanian Devil figurine that is lit up and fully on display.

“Golden Sedan” was sung by Nelson with a simple, quieter intro and an unusual guitar riff.  I really enjoyed “Downtown Side” which reminded me of Rural Alberta Advantage which opened with lots of drums, simple guitar sand great backing vocals from Lovier.  Then it shifted directions an was soon sung by Rahn.  And then came my favorite part of the night, when Rahn started playing cowbells and Lovier started playing a shaker and blowing a whistle–it was a fun musical interlude before returning to the somewhat mellow outro of the song.

Caterpillar Pilled which Lovier described as their “dance hit” had so much going on.  A staccato verse that was capped off with the lyrical melody from “eeny meeny miney moe.”  This was followed by a musical break of massive progrock time changes until it jumped back to the main melody.  It ended in a kind of punky rampage with Rahn and Lovier smiling at each other the whole time.  It was great to see a band have so much fun

“Pick a Way” slowed things down and featured more cool guitar effects until it ended in a frenetic guitar solo and cymbal smash off

Things turned punk when Lovier sang “Bless Me,” a screamed song that reminded me of the chaotic punk of early SST days.  I particularly enjoyed the way the lyrics were kind of an echo of themselves but were sung far enough apart that it’s not an echo

Call the cops, I’ve been living on an unsequestered lot
‘Questered lot
‘Questered lot

“Subtext” returned to a quieter song with a pretty, upbeat guitar melody.   I loved the way the different singer added differing textures to the backing vocals.

I didn’t think I stopped smiling once during there set.  I also had a nice chat with Danielle after the show. I look forward to exploring their music further.

1. Mating Call ⊗
2. Arts & Lit ⊗
3. Packrat ⊗
4. Golden Sedan ⊗
5. Downtown Side ∴
6. Caterpillar Pilled ⊗
7. Pick A Way ‰
8. Bless Me ⊗
9. Subtext ⊗

⊗ Bless Me (2024)
∴ Scatter Plot EP (2023)
‰ Numbers Gmae (2022)