It was a little eerie driving downtown on Thursday night. The smoky haze that has taken over Minnesota has the entire area feeling a bit other-worldly but that wasn’t going to stop me from finally seeing GOWNS live and finding who Durry and Colin Bracewell were. I made it inside the sold-out show just in time for GOWNS to take the stage and, as soon as they did, I completely forgot about the almost creepy drive to the show.
I had the absolute honor of reviewing GOWNS’ ‘The Hollow’ EP last August. It was love at first listen and I have been dreaming of catching the band live ever since listening to that album. That dream finally came true on Thursday night and they did not disappoint. Although much younger than I thought they would be, this band wasted no time and blasted into an amazing set that had the sold-out audience dancing through its entirety. From stunning vocals to endless amounts of energy and even a stellar sax solo from the vocalist, GOWNS had the audience right where they wanted them- in the palm of their hand. Their set was short and sadly, after only thirty minutes, they were clearing off the stage and making room for Durry.
I had never heard of Durry prior to the show but, that’s not a huge surprise. Thursday night’s show was actually Durry’s debut performance which, in any other case, may make me nervous but this band took the stage and instantly proved that they are going to be a force to be reckoned with. Nostalgic indie-pop is the way the vocalist of GOWNS described Durry’s music before they took the stage and honestly, I couldn’t think of a better way to describe it. There were moments that had super familiar vibes relating back to the fun indie-pop of the early 2000s that I grew up on but there were also moments that felt more modern and original. Although I could name hundreds of bands that Durry reminded me of, none of those would be a dead-on comparison and that was just the icing on the cake to Durry’s flawless sound.
Beyond their sound was their stage presence. Much like GOWNS, Durry had the audience in the palm of their hands throughout the set. Vocalist Austin Durry is no stranger to the stage. It took a friend to point it out but Austin is also in Coyote Kid who is a personal favorite of mine (and who I will hopefully be seeing in just about a week so keep your eyes peeled for a review on that one). Honestly, it made sense. The amount of passion, emotion, and conviction with which Austin performs is something you don’t forget and something you can’t hide. Although Durry is a different name and the style is a bit more commercial than that of Coyote Kid, it gave me the same vibe and made me fall head over heels for this band. Beyond Austin, the rest of the band clearly shared the passion and emotion that came through in his vocals adding a giant vibe of magic throughout their all-too-quick set. Thursday night may have been Durry’s first show ever but it surely won’t be their last.
Both GOWNS and Durry were absolutely amazing but Thursday’s show was a celebration for Colin Bracewell and the release of his brand new EP, ‘Valley’. I was instantly struck by Colin’s youth. Maybe it is the fact that my birthday is next Tuesday and it’s finally hitting me that I’ll be a number that I do not want to say out loud, but at only 20 years old, Colin is definitely young no matter how you look at it but you honestly wouldn’t know that by just listening to him. Colin’s voice is amazing. There’s no other way to put it. From the smoothest falsetto to sultry darkness, Colin’s vocals were all over the place which made his headlining set fly by. Although my exhaustion level was appreciative of how quickly his set went by, I was not. I could have stood there all night listening to Colin’s music and taking in both the energy and calm that it brought to me. I don’t hesitate to say that I would not have been alone in that. As they had been the rest of the night, the sold-out audience was completely captivated by everything Colin did and every note he and his amazing band performed. Young, sure, but Colin has an old soul when it comes to some of his lyrics and comes off as a seasoned professional on stage. Mark my words– there are big things to come from this young man. You just wait!
