Walk Off The Earth, the five piece indie-pop band of multi-instrumentalists from Ontario Canada known for their creative covers of pop songs, played at August Hall last Sunday night August 26th.
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| photo by Nikki DeMartini |
After 17 years the club known for being the spot in the city for EDM shows closed it doors and re-opened earlier this year as August Hall. With it's 100 year old architecture, stained glass windows and 32 foot high ceilings, the 750-1000 capacity music hall is a pristine restoration of one of SF's original masterpieces.
It was my first time at the new music venue located at 420 Mason Street in Union Square since it's renovation and it did not disappoint. From the 1920's stylistic marque, to the personalized cocktail napkins, to the polished wood and iron hall itself, even the modern bathrooms carry a retro feel that remind me of Bimbo's 365 Club across town.
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| photo by Nikki DeMartini |
It was pretty packed by the time I got there but there was still a feeling of openness to it.
Mike "Beard Guy" Taylor started off their set with a drum solo and the room was alive with a spirited energy before Sarah, Gianni, Ryan and Mike joined him on stage. From guitar, theremin, ukulele and trombone each of the five multi-instrumentalist band members also proved to be vocalists as they shared singing duties. Within the first three songs Sarah, Gianni and Ryan had all already taken their turn on lead vocals.
It's been three years since the release of their sixth studio album, Sing It All Away but their renditions of hits like Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You" and Pharrell's "Happy" keep them relevant. Really grabbing everyone's attention was their cover of Sheeran's "Shape Of You" which was their third song of the night but the forth song of the night, their own "Rule The World" really dialed the crowd in.
The use of kazoos and whistling tubes make their already exuberant performance pop with fun like a confetti filled popper bursting at midnight on New Years eve. It's not too often you see pyrotechnics at a smaller, indoor venue but like sensory overload a kid experiences at their first visit to a carnival, plumes of smoke intermittently blasted from the stage throughout their set.
The room buzzed with a youthful excitement as different members of the band expressed their love and gratitude for San Francisco, their most favorite city. Along with covering everything from Adele to Chainsmokers to OutKast, they treated SF to a brand new song that they'd never played live before.
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| Walk Off The Earth at August Hall 8/26/2018 photo by Nikki DeMartini The highlight of the night came midway through their jam packed set when when all five of them got behind one acoustic guitar and performed a melody consisting of: Somebody That I Use to Know, Sugar Pie Honey Bunch, My Girl, Twist and Shout, Royals and All Time Low. It was a sight I've never seen before and I think most would agree that it was so much fun to see live. |
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| Walk Off The Earth at August Hall 8/26/2018 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
Walk Off The Earth isn't officially on tour, like they told SF fans that night, they just wanted to play a show in San Francisco so they booked one. Their hootenanny sounded flawless as they sweetly dominated the stage at the newest venue in their beloved city by the bay. Fans happily sang and danced along to all 20 songs of their set well into night without a care, as if Monday weren't just right around the corner.
set-list 8/26/2018
1. Beard Guy/Drums
2. Red Hands
3. Shape Of You (Ed Sheeran cover)
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| Walk Off The Earth at August Hall 8/26/2018 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
4. Rule The World
5. Gang of Rhythm
6. Happy (Pharrell Williams cover)
7. Taekwondo
8. 5 peeps one guitar melody
9. Lost In You
10. Issues (Julia Michaels cover)
11. 5th Avenue
12. 6/8 Country Riff C to G
13. Home We'll Go
14. Hello (Adele)/Closer (Chainsmokers)
15. Fire In My Soul
16. Girls Like You
17. Sing It All The Way
18. Hold On (The Break)
19. Hey Ya! (OutKast cover)
20. R.E.V.O
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