It it with much luck and love between indieBerlin and Columbia Theater that I got to squeeze myself into a sold out show of Los Growlers, playing last Saturday, the 12th of November.
The Growlers have been touring Europe for the past month to promote their newly released album, City Club and managed to get most of their shows to be sold out, with people hovering outside the doors with bleeding hearts and eyes, looking for some angel to sell them another ticket.
Those dreamy Beach Goth sounds the Growlers have become so famous for
There was no opening band and the whole fiasco started a little later than expected, the DJ hyping the crowd after every song as they squeezed towards the front area to get up close with the band…
Could best be described as raw organic honey – so creamy with a touch of coarseness
When the Growlers finally made an appearance, all was forgiven as they strutted the coolest matching outfits and began with those dreamy Beach Goth sounds the Growlers have become so famous for. And of course, frontman Brooks Nielson’s rather distinctive voice was flowing through the halI which could best be described as raw organic honey – so creamy with a touch of coarseness… And it was with such pleasure to hear his voice sound just like it does in all the recordings. Nothing’s been added, nothing taken.
The band consists of only two of the original members
The band consist of only two of the original members that have only recently decided to split from the band, and have replaced the drummer with a session drummer that got me slightly concerned initially, but it was so good, they were so tight and played extremely well together. I take my hat off to session musicians who do such a great job at interpreting a band’s style and ‘je ne sais quoi’.
The Growlers are just the epitome of smooth
The band played a number of their new tracks from City Club that are, in my opinion, a lot more pop and less mythical than the old stuff and, yes, I am using the word smooth for probably the third time… But The Growlers are just the epitome of smooth, and their show and the night and the people were all just….smooth. Like a 70s disco. There was also a lot of love on the crowd’s face, especially as they started getting into the older tracks like ‘Hiding Under The Covers’ with it’s dreamy and slightly eerie organ sounds and Nielson’s comical dance moves; and my personal favourite ‘Humdrum Blues’, because, don’t we all want Nielson’s Ring on our pretty little hands?
Columbia Theater once again co-ordinated a most successful event, one of my favourite shows of the year.
