 Dane Ueland and the Wailing Well, Ah Holly Fam’ly, Kaylee Cole, and Horse Feathers bought in a great crowd at the Empyrean for Inlander Cheap Beer Night on Tuesday, April 14th. All the seats were filled, the walls were lined with people standing, and the floor was covered with kids sitting as the opening act Dane Ueland and the Wailing Well started off the night with appealing indie folk sounds. Technically this was my first time seeing Dane Ueland but he did sing with Kaylee Cole at the Karli Fairbank CD Release show. When I saw him with Kaylee he was adding backup vocals and gently playing his guitar and on Tuesday he sang his heart out and put on a wonderful show. His music makes me want to sway back and forth and tap my feet, he fits the indie folk genre to a tee. The bands set was relaxed and even Dane said “Sorry I have to tune my guitar in-between every song… I’m not rich enough to have six guitars, but when I do I won’t have time to say stupid shit.” But, Dane I must say “stupid shit” adds character and personality to a set, so when you do get rich from your music don’t forget to add it in. They ended their set with a jazzy song and overall I would love to see Dane Ueland and the Wailing Well play another show, and I hope you do too.
Matt and I stepped out of the room for a moment to grab a beer while Ah Holly Fam’ly was setting up. At first I was a little unsure of what we were about to see, we weren’t expecting to see seven people on the stage when we walked back in the room, but by the second song I loved it. There is a lot going on when you see this band. The stage was covered with a drum set, cello, fiddle, flute, lap steel, acoustic guitar, and a glockenspiel. The band was lead by the front man Jeremy and followed with harmonious backup vocals from Becky and Amelia.
The entire band or shall I say Fam’ly has a one of a kind sound that catches up and will stick with you. Jeremy’s singing seems almost timid and shy but when the band is together it is this pleasant powerful sound. I could see this group around a camp-fire or on a stage and love every second of it. They are a one-of-a-kind find from Portland that is currently touring with Horse Feathers, so if you can’t make it to one of their upcoming shows take the time to check these kids out on Myspace or on their website – and enjoy!
 “Yay!” As Kaylee would say! I was excited to see her perform on Tuesday because ever since I saw Kaylee Cole at the Karli Fairbanks show I have had the notes to “Uncertain World” stuck in my head and was I ever so thrilled to have her open her set with it! Last time Kaylee Cole had Dane Ueland on stage with her as she did tonight but, she also had a lovely violin player named Kim on stage with her as well. Together the two added a nice “extra” to her set and it sounded grand.
After “Uncertain World” she continued to play “The Hills,” and “Baby’s Blood,” which by the way is her #1 fan’s favorite song. It is a treat to watch Kaylee play the piano because her hands are graceful as they glide across the keys and there is not a single note off, it sounds perfect. She managed to be very amusing again in between each song, she likes to make the audience laugh and it makes her set very entertaining. Before playing Dane’s favorite song “Fortress” they three did a cute cover of a song from the movie The Jerk. She ended her set with “Your War” which sounded great with the violin and a “See Ya! … Hope I didn’t offend anyone!”
This was Kaylee Cole’s last show in Spokane for a while because the rumor is true. She is heading over to L.A. to make her dreams come true and work with a certain someone from TV On the Radio. When she gets back in town though, you can check her out at Elkfest in May!
 Last but not least Horse Feathers from Portland, Oregon took the stage. There stood three gentlemen, an acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, a small drum set, mandolin, saw, violin, banjo, and tambourine. I loved, loved, loved, how the front man Justin played the tambourine with his foot while he played his acoustic guitar and sang. His vocals are very pure and soft, they sound that came from the band overall was something I would want to hear as I am driving through the country in my Volkswagen. It is indie folk but it is an indie folk I haven’t heard before, I loved it. I also thought that the saw was very cool too, it is rare to get to hear someone play a saw like a cello and it sounded perfect. The room was so quite too that you could really hear every single sound that came off the stage. At one point one of the gentlemen on stage was playing brushes on his jeans or even running them along a symbol so gently but you could still hear it. It sounded so clear in there and it was very intricate, not one instrument sounded bad or was off. It was a great performance and I can’t wait to see them again.
You can check out Horse Feathers this Memorial Day Weekend at the Gorge for Sasquatch, they will be playing on Monday at the Yeti Stage so if your there make sure to stop by!
Check out more photos from the show HERE!
Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com |
