The Brit-rock band Nothing But Thieves hit Popscene's stage full force last week for their SF debut and the native Bay Area band, Panic Is Perfect opened for them.
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| Nothing But Thieves at Popscene 2/10/2016 Photo by Marc Fong |
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| Panic Is Perfect at Popscene 2/10/2016 Photo by Marc Fong |
The Rickshaw Stop hosted Popscene last Wednesday night which is normally held on Thursday nights, sometimes on Fridays and the line to get inside stretched down the street before doors opened at 8:30. At 9:30 the 5 guys of Panic Is Perfect took the stage stage with a bit of apprehensiveness in their step. The apprehensive air quickly cleared when their sweet, synthy indie-pop hit the enthusiastic crowd, gingerly lifting the overall spirit throughout the club.
Feeding off of this positive reaction, Panic Is Perfect plugged that energy right back into their performance: singer Mike Hoffman became visibly gleeful by the second song, smiling and bopping around while wholeheartedly singing, banging a single floor tom in front of him and shaking a tambourine. Joining in on the fun, keyboardist Joey Hassid popped to center stage throughout the set to hit a cowbell hidden on Hoffman's mic, adding a playful layer of percussion to their unique layers of dynamic rhythms. It made you feel good to see the local band, preforming a hometown show, get happier and happier as fans sang along to their youthful, danceable, new-wave inspired songs. Hoffman and band co-founder, Jeremy Belezer's fun connection fueled their soaring energy and they took every opportunity to sincerely say thanks as well as promote their debut album, Cell Space which they worked so long and hard on. The set ended with a big bang as they essentially had a drum induced jam session, jumping up and pounding out an invigorating set. Their cheerful, carefree vibe of their well polished indie-pop was well received by Popscene show-goers and the band as a whole clearly couldn't be happier about it! They themselves said they couldn't have asked for a better, more fun record release show.
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| Panic Is Perfect at Popscene 2/10/2016 Photo by Marc Fong |
Room to move opened on the dance floor as fans made their way to Panic Is Perfect's merch table to sing their praises face to face with members of the band during the change over for the headliners.
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| Nothing But Thieves at Popscene 2/10/2016 Photo by Marc Fong |
Nothing But Thieves mellowed things down a notch with their moody melodic tunes. With a low but loud grandiose sound heavy with mature guitar hooks and ominous drum beats, the up and comers sound like they're aspiring to be the next Radiohead. Delving into their dark alternative rock world, "Itch", "Painkiller" and "Hostage" off of their self-titled, 2015 debut album topped the set. Focused on delivering their best you could see that each of them take their music very seriously and you could hear why by the quality of their music in the small SF night club.
In a genuine effort to make his band more personable, singer Conor Mason kept things casual with lighthearted banter between every single song. His impressive vocal range hit whooping highs and held notes strongly, he carried the show with a powerful passion. The highlight of their show that night was their cover of The Pixies' "Where Is My Mind", they even seemed to perk up a little bit as they played it! As most emerging bands with a single on the radio do, Nothing But Thieves played the catchy "Trip Switch" a little later in their set.
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| Nothing But Thieves at Popscene 2/10/2016 Photo by Marc Fong |
Though the bands that played the Popscene stage last week have very different sounds, Panic Is Perfect and Nothing But Thieves do have a couple things in common:
1) There are 5 members in each band.
2) They are both playing Bottle Rock Napa Valley in May!
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