Date: 3/7/19 

Venue: Rec Room

City: Buffalo, NY

Lineup: Another Michael, Pinegrove

Words: Chandler Poczciwinski

Photography: Haley Sousa

After spending a year off the road, Pinegrove is back with a completely sold out U.S. tour and upcoming run overseas. If you are a fan of Pinegrove or are versed in the happenings of the indie scene then I am sure you have heard about the reason Pinegrove took their year-long hiatus. However, that is not what I am here to talk about, today, I am here to talk about the Buffalo date of the recent sold-out Pinegrove tour that hit 13 different cities in the U.S, including two sold-out shows in Chicago and three sold-out shows in their home state of New Jersey. This tour was in support of their recent release Skylight that was shelved before their hiatus. I was lucky enough to take part in Buffalo date of the tour and I was blown away by my experience.

Another Michael from not that far away Albany, NY started off the evening with their low key almost stripped sound. I was not unfamiliar with Another Michael before the show, however, their live experience was something new to me. If I to describe Another Michael’s live performance I would say it is simply “beautiful”.

Frontman Michael’s voice is so clean and pure, when he sings it sounds as peaceful as birds chirping in the morning. Michael’s voice accompanied by the calm and smooth sounds produced by the rest of the band makes you feel as if you are sitting on a bed of clouds watching the sunset.

Up next, the main event that everyone has been dying to see, Pinegrove. As frontman Evan Stephens Hall took to the stage he was met with roaring applause, that he had to politely quiet down so they could go into their first song “Size of the Moon” off their breakthrough album Cardinal. I was actually taken back by the positive response that Pinegrove received from just walking on stage, proving that they are much more than just your normal indie band. Pinegrove played an impressive career spanning set, however, a majority of the songs were off their latest release Skylight.

What really struck me about their performance was how humble and genuine it felt. There were no special effects or extra stage production, instead, there was just a simple Skylight themed backdrop. However, after I thought about it, it would have been odd if there was a massive stage production. If you listen to any Pinegrove song you won’t find any crazy production value, instead, you will find an authentic sound revolving around Hall’s deep and intellectual lyrics.

 Even in the live setting, you will still find the same authentic sound that Pinegrove is known for, except with the addition of the entire crowd singing along word for word to every song. I never thought in my life I could see a crowd so fully encaptivated by a bands performance, but the Buffalo crowd didn’t take their eyes off the Hall and the rest of Pinegrove until they left the stage after their set.  Overall, I was extremely impressed with the performance that Pinegrove gave to the Buffalo crowd. If you are a fan of Pinegrove and missed out on this tour, then I would highly suggest getting your tickets early for their next tour because it is a truly spiritual experience. Until Pinegrove announces their next U.S tour, get off the charts and support your local music scene.