Vison Video And Stranger Gallery Bring Cool Darkness To The Hook & Ladder

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How does one seek validation as a parent? Turns out for me, it’s knowing that my kids appreciate good music. When my daughter told me about a band she had just seen called VIsion Video that was a major boost to my fatherly ego, after all, dark, gothy and dancy are right up my alley. So when I found out that they were coming back to town I had to see them. As a bonus a local new band I have been meaning to check out was opening. 

Stranger Gallery rose from the ashes of Wax Lead with Cody Bourdot, Joe Hastings, Manny Castro, and Rocky Rosga. They just released their first EP Feign and Fawn a few weeks ago. Their sound is dark and layered, reminiscent of much of the music I grew up listening to. I took an instant liking to their songs. “Restless” was my personal favorite. If you get a chance to catch them locally, I promise you will have a dark, good time.

Set List: Divide By Eight / Cinders / Ashes To Ashes / Restless / New White Lies / Sixteen Candles / Heartfelt

 

Vision Video hail from Athens, GA and also just released a new album “Haunted Hours”. Singer Dusty Gannon greeted fans with his best pronunciation of “Minnesooootah”. Within the first few cords, the crowd was dancing or at least moving along to the beat. Fans of many genres will enjoy their music as was evident by the mix of the crowd. But except for a few lost souls, the black dress code was evident. Singer Dusty Gannon’s background EMT was fitting the venue (The Hook & Ladder is an old Firehouse).

Later in the show they recalled their last time in Minneapolis “it snowed like a bastard” and the energy of fans at that show. “Haunted Hours” the title song of their new album was introduced as being about loss not being all about sadness. There is a personal connection with fans at a level I think goes deeper than usual. I enjoyed the story about their search for a keyboard player that ended with “shove a keyboard in front of Emily and see what happens” – as a classically trained pianist a lot happened. Emily Fredock also took over lead vocals for “Comfort” and impressed me. The encore brought covers of 2 songs from my teenage years.

Set List: Static / Inked / Promises / Haunted / Comfort / Kandahar / Beautiful / Death / Organized / In My Side / Cruelty /Transmission / Monitor

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