"Guitars erupt over vintage synths as Good Night, States fuses familial indie quirks with steady rock and roll sensibility. Four part harmony, homemade guitar pedal white noise, and warbly vintage synths augment stand-alone songwriting to craft a memorable, melodic live show."We'd seen this unattributed quote in a few places on the old internet and, though we’ve given them a few recent shout-outs on the blog and we both dig their studio releases, neither of us had seen Good Night, States live. Turns out the description above is pretty apt, as we learned for ourselves this past Friday when we both skipped the Antlers in favor of the local indie darling. Here's our take on our maiden voyage with GNS at the Thunderbird Café:
Roberto: It was clear from their stage setup on Friday that this is a band who takes their sound seriously. And though that doesn't mean their studio sound is translated directly to the live show, it does mean that the band's many nuances don't get lost in the mix.
With a healthy array of keyboards and a plethora of pedals at the ready, the five-piece started out with a couple of more traditional rockers--including the excellent "Family Dark"--before really spreading out and showing off their experimental side.
Henry: Yeah, it was hard not to notice the meticulous weave electric of cabling and homemade pedals they deftly plugged together. In an era of big, booming, black amps their array of mini-boxes strategically miked in the few spaces allowed by the intimate T-Bird stage gave the show a friend’s living room kind of feel.
R: And while less energetic on stage than the well-received Middle Distance Runner, who played just before them, GNS bring a sort of studious professionalism to their live show that works well for their sound. The obvious comparison for their studio material is a slightly poppier Wilco, and that holds pretty true for their stage presence as well (perhaps thinking of a Wilco before the addition of the explosive Nels Cline).
H: At first, I was underwhelmed when they turned the soundcheck into a steady rocker. But the show picked up steam and you had to recognize the tightness of the group. That said, Middle Distance had just finished rocking the room into a swirling frenzy of cigarettey, wailing rock and GNS’ articulate harmonies felt sweet but punchless for the first 4 or 5 minutes as a result.
R: What struck me about GNS, particularly on the epic "Long Coats, No Energy," was their ability to keep it controlled during a few electro-instrumental interludes that recalled middle-era Sonic Youth, which could have strayed into the risky realm of noise-for-the-sake-of-noise in a small venue like the Thunderbird. Thankfully, the band fell back in line well short of that mark. To me, this showed a level of restraint unexpected for a band at only two years of age.
H: It was clear that all three bands on the bill (Eulogies, MDR and GNS, in order of appearance) are worthy of their music-blog-hype.
Shifting gears, I’d be remiss if I didn’t commend GNS’ clever and oh-so-indie marketing stunt: the band’s merch-girl (who’s name I unfortunately didn’t catch) wandered the crowd throughout the night and had audience members write messages to their friends on GNS postcards, which the band would then mail for you. She had five different cards featuring each of the band’s indie-glamour mugshots on them.
I guess what I'm getting at is this: they are everything you want your local indie-rock-act-with-big-time-potential to be. They’re clever, smallish, tight-jeaned--but above all else, immensely talented. A solid and pleasing show.
R: Totally agree. Their focus was clearly on the music, and I think the audience could feel that and appreciated it. Though all the night's performers showed up to impress, most folks in the crowd actually seemed to be there for GNS, and it's no secret why.
Final note: GNS will be playing next on April 15 at the New Hazeltt Theatre on the Northside, and Eulogies will be back in town on May 8, this time at Diesel opening for the Dears.
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