By Laura Citino
Western Herald
A bite-sized microcosm of the local Kalamazoo music scene came out to dance Friday night, when Glowfriends and Jes Kramer played with Grand Rapids native Zach Vinson at the Strutt Café and Bar.
It has been the privileged knowledge of many a scenester for quite some time that Kalamazoo has a thriving independent music scene to rival any big city. Each year the local community catches on more and more, and venues like The Strutt serve the best purpose of bringing that music to the public. Coupled with surrounding towns like Grand Rapids, and even Ann Arbor down I-94, Michigan rock music is a force to be reckoned with.
The three bands at The Strutt on Friday were a example of that phenomenon.
Electroacoustic indie maven Jes Kramer started off the festivities. Armed with a guitar, a keyboard and several effects pedals, Kramer kept the audience, which was clearly made up of devoted fans and friends, enthralled with her quirky yet plaintive lyrics. Songs like “Hermaphrodite” showcased Kramer’s talent at songwriting. Although her lyrics are so specific that they are expressed like personal, secret stories related late in the night, the themes related through her stories are universal enough to get through the heart of any young person experiencing life in a city like Kalamazoo.
As Kramer exited the stage to hearty applause before joining her friends in the audience, pop-rock pianist Zach Vinson and his accompaniment took the stage. Vinson, hailing originally from Wisconsin but whose musical base is currently in Grand Rapids, writes goofy piano-driven pop songs in the style of Ben Folds that are all over the lyrical map. Mentioning his gratitude to hometown heroes Kramer and Glowfriends, Vinson clearly felt comfortable enough to have some fun talking to the audience.
“I have this habit of saying whatever comes into my head onstage,” he said after cracking some jokes in between songs.
“The other night I made a Bambi reference in Chicago.”
Vinson also reminded attendees to check out his atypical merchandise table. Besides the standard fare of CDs and cheap t-shirts, Vinson explained the free used books to be had. As part of what he called his “Empty the Bookshelves tour,” of which this Kalamazoo show was his last date, Vinson had been lugging a suitcase full of used books around to give away. A self-proclaimed lover of literature and English major, Vinson encouraged everyone to pick up a book to take home with them.
After a few jokes about the audience’s polite clapping while waiting for Glowfriends, Vinson rounded off his evening by strapping on his guitar for a number of songs, including his closing cover of the classic rockabilly standard, “I’ve Been Everywhere.”
While the lapse between the simple stage set-ups of Kramer and Vinson was relatively short, local Kalamazoo institution Glowfriends took a bit longer to pull their glockenspiels, vibraphones, and multiple guitars on stage, not to mention the projector screen behind the band.
Although they were further plagued by more than few false starts and delayed sound checks, Glowfriends’ performance needed no time to get warmed up. The band jumped right into the thick of their musical energy. Audience members, who had been seated for the previous two sets, took little time to migrate to the front of the stage to dance. Or at least, stamp their feet and bob rhythmically back and forth. This was clearly the band that people had shown up to see.
Glowfriends and the scene surrounding them has often been described as “Kalamashoegaze,” even by the band itself. While that is certainly a catchy name and the atmospheric, dreamy pop-sound certainly has its roots in the genre of shoegaze, Glowfriends did anything but stare at their shoes during their performance. Lead singer April Morris danced energetically while trading vocals with Mark Andrew Morris on guitar, banging her tambourine like her life depended on it.
One highlight of the show was their rendition of “350,” a song specially recorded for the Strutt’s recently released compilation record. All benefits from the CD go to combating climate change.
While the band performed, clipped-together footage of the beloved orange and brown Michigan autumn tumbled on the screen behind them. While the screen caused problems at the beginning of their set, the serene and atmospheric video played perfectly against the band’s music, and was overall a welcome addition.
The band closed with a previously unheard track that they hinted may be available on the their new album.
“This will probably be the last time we play in Kalamazoo this year,” Morris said before the final song.
As Glowfriends finished off their set, the Strutt began to slowly empty. Half the crowd was dressed up in variously absurd costumes for Devil’s Night, mixing with the more plainly dressed fans and Kalamazoo natives who had come out for a night of quality local Michigan music. It was difficult to tell the mindset of these concert-goers from their faces piled with make-up, but a definite feeling of hometown pride and awe could be felt in the sweaty air and under the glow of the Halloween lights.
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