There were some really great vibes at Hang Fire on Thursday night for the No Control party featuring Heyrocco, Triathalon, and Sunglow.
I had already had a pretty full night by the time I got to Hang Fire: a friend and I had dinner and drinks at Circa 1875 before seeing Roebrt Cray’s excellent Savannah Music Festival gig at the Lucas Theatre, and then we met up with more friends at Circa afterward.
We made our way across Whitaker Street to Hang Fire by about 10:15 or so to find the experimental electronic solo project Sunglow already on stage. Subtle, warm, more upbeat than not, Sunglow’s music seemed a perfect opener as the crowd built and got settled in.
Heyrocco was up next. I’ve been a big fan for a couple of years now, and Thursday’s show only confirmed my belief that the trio has some big things ahead. Lead singer Nathan has embraced the theatricality of the stage — I’ve seen a lot of bands this year, but only a few with a more compelling or charismatic frontman/frontwoman. Heyrocco’s high-energy set is peppered with 90s influences, but the band’s stage presence is sort of a throwback to something even earlier — to some sort of mix of garage and glam rock. (I’m not sure the kids in the crowd entirely got it, but the old folks sure did.)
Whatever influences one hears or sees, Heyrocco still captures the here and now; they have the immediacy of passion that one expects from a great young rock band. Heyrocco has a video soon to be released for their fun new-ish song “Mom Jeans” and I gather they’ve got an album more or less in the can too. Their latest single “Melt” before is one of the best songs you’ll ever hear about premature ejaculation:
“The awkward, long apology, much longer than the sex.” Love it.
Savannah-based Triathalon was up last, playing to a packed house. The set reminded me of the first couple of times I saw the band back in 2012. Lead singer Adam Intrator and company really feed off the energy of the crowd, and they’ve always liked playing on the floor, so the small stage and tight confines of Hang Fire provided the perfect atmosphere. Former member Mike Younker was filling in on bass, as he did on a recent short tour, and Jeff Zagers joined too on keys and sax.
Between the crowd in the bar and the crowd on stage, not to mention the fact that I had to be up the next morning, I managed just a few decent shots of Triathalon, but got more of Heyrocco. Panhandle Slim’s paintings made for a nice backdrop, as they always do for pretty much everything, including life itself. A few pics here and then more after the jump:
Sunglow:
Triathalon:
Heyrocco:
