My bestie who was due with her first baby on Wednesday still has not popped but I couldn’t go another day without a live show. I knew it was a risk and, knowing my luck, she was going to call right when I got downtown but I took the leap and made my way to First Avenue and the 7th Street Entry for a doubleheader on Saturday night.
My first show was the one in the more intimate 7th Street Entry headlined by Geese. Full disclosure– I had no clue who this was when walking into the show on Saturday but knew that this band had been suggested to me multiple times and I knew it was sold out so there had to be something there, right?
PACKS was the sole opener for the night. It came as no surprise that PACKS was originally a solo project of front-woman Madeline Link. I only say that because Madeline instantly grabbed my attention and the attention of everyone around me. It wasn’t that she was wearing a showy outfit, said anything catchy, or even stormed the stage with an undeniable sense of energy– it was more just her. She commanded the audience without even saying a word and that only intensified and she and her amazing band started their quick opening set.
Everything about PACKS is understated from the way they rarely banter with the crowd or each other all the way to the music. Everything about them is subtle and chill yet well-calculated and genius. Honestly, the only comparison I could really make here would be Vundabar without the punk edge but I feel like that’s an obscure comparison, to begin with, and, on top of that, doesn’t quite do PACKS justice. Overall, the band has a very indie-pop style but they throw in a bedroom-pop sensibility and perfectly placed dissonance that makes sure you don’t tune them out. Madeline’s stand-out vocals follow this. The way she slides from word to word in an almost lazy manner is something that shouldn’t work or, at least, shouldn’t lead to a sense of energy but that’s exactly what you get from her.
PACKS was truly a solid way to open up the sold-out show and, clearly, left me scrambling to find the right words but, as Geese hopped into their set, I realized that finding the words for PACKS was going to be the easiest part of this review.
I don’t even know where to begin with the style of Geese. Psychedelic – punk – pop – rock – indie- drum and bass – rap– I mean, it was seriously all there and it had me floored. There were clear breaks between each song which would bring a whole new vibe to the room but it was the way this band seamlessly transitioned between styles within a single song that had me absolutely stunned. I didn’t catch the name of the track but there was one that started off like a good ol’ fashioned punk rock song before bridging into something a bit more psychedelic but with rap breaks that had the audience moshing around ever so slightly. Add a keytar to this excitement and I was left with something that I truly only wish I had done more research on so I could have been part of the sweaty crowd on the floor.
All of the members of this band were great but, with so much going on musically, it was hard for me to really hone in on each member. What I did hone in on was the vocalist, Cameron Winter. The music already had me super excited about this band and what they were doing but Cameron’s vocals were the icing on the cake. Like the music, the vocals were all over the place but it was the way Cameron’s voice could go so unnaturally low without coming off as unnatural that had my head spinning. On top of that, it was as if he was able to go to the low and dark place but then back up to a more standard indie-rock vibe without blinking or hesitating.
I had spent the first half of Geese’s hour-long set trying to figure them out but gave up. Geese is not a band to figure out– they are a band to enjoy and what an understatement to say that I enjoyed their set. Listening to Geese got me excited about music again and it was a perfect way to kick off my double-header evening.
