Dead Leaf Echo and Versuch take stage at Firebird

This story was published on Lindenlink.com March 12, 2014

Photo by Annette Schaefer. Dead Leaf Echo at Firebird in St. Louis, Mo.

To most passersby, the small venue, located near the corner of Olive St. and N. Jefferson in the midst of downtown St. Louis, may have seemed to be having a rather quiet evening. On the contrary, the venue, named the Firebird, oddly located amongst a grouping of office buildings, was ebbing and flowing with the hustle and bustle of musicians chatting with friends and hauling their gear through the back doors. It was another night and another show for the local music hot-spot.

On the roster for Sunday’s performance were local band Versuch and Brooklyn, New York natives Dead Leaf Echo. Around 7:30 p.m.  Firebird employee peeked out the door to let those waiting know that they were free to come inside. About an hour later, Versuch took the stage.

Photo by Annette Schaefer. Versuch at Firebird in St. Louis, Mo. 3/9/14.

Versuch began the night with a classic rock ‘n’ roll vibe. Having a retro sound and bluesy vocals, the group put on a polished set that was neither flashy nor boring. The band kept their words to a minimum and let the music speak for itself. The small but seemingly joyful audience applauded and cheered for the band throughout their set. The St. Louis musicians gave a satisfying start to an interesting evening.

Headlining the intimate show, Dead Leaf Echo took their first steps onto a Missouri stage. Despite the small number, the band seemed grateful for their new audience’s enthusiasm. A band used to more fierce and diverse competition had the small crowd’s full attention.

“The fans are usually very different in terms of attitude.  Brooklyn/NYC can have a much broader view of what they have seen and heard,” explained the band’s singer LG , “Smaller markets can be very fresh and sometimes can be more of a lag in between good touring acts thereby making it fresh to these audiences.”

Photo by Annette Schaefer. The small crowd at Firebird in St. Louis, Mo. 3/9/14.

Starting as an art project, Dead Leaf Echo took on a life of its own and became the unique touring act it is today. Even as the band set up the stage and sound checked, it was evident that the audience was in for an intriguing evening.

“It’s a bit of a large sound, slightly somnambulist; sparkling darkness with an edge of hope perhaps. Its music mixed with concept and also includes elements of visual art,” said LG on the band’s unique approach to music.

As the band began to play, they strummed their guitars, creating a sort of noisy ambience. Instead of traditional lighting, the band chose to use a projector that flashed different shapes, patterns and colors. The dark but still colorful lighting easily complimented the echoing guitars, erratic rhythms and misty vocals. With the combination of light and sound the band members background in visual arts and sound design came across clearly.

Photo by Annette Schaefer. Dead Leaf Echo at Firebird in St. Louis, Mo. 3/9/14.

Prior to Sunday night’s show, Dead Leaf Echo released their latest EP titled “true.deep.sleeper.” For better or worse, the album was a product of a short burst of inspiration and is probably the group’s most musically dreamy work to date.

LG said that the album was inspired by “terrible sleep patterns and the depression that comes from sleeping your life away.”

For a band that began with almost no serious intentions, Dead Leaf Echo has come a long way to become the musical project it is now. Even after the group wraps up their current string of shows, they still have many hopes for the future.

“Putting out the latest album has been the easiest thus far in terms of creating, producing and now promoting.  So each year you learn more and more about how to do things,” said LG, “[I am] looking forward to making another record. I would also love to finally take this collective to Europe and make all new friends overseas.”

Photo by Annette Schaefer. LG of Dead Leaf Echo at Firebird in St. Louis, Mo. 3/9/14.

It seems the Dead Leaf Echo may have a bright future ahead of them. Even as the house lights came up and the band made their way off stage, fans old and maybe even new happily cheered and clapped for their performance, bringing another night of music to close at the Firebird.

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Here are a few more photos I took from the show:

‘A Fever You Still Can’t Sweat Out’: Panic! at the Disco 2013

On Tuesday I went to go see this awesome little band known as Panic! at the Disco. They, oddly enough, played at a small local venue called the Firebird and of course it was  to a packed, sold out crowd. It was a pretty incredible show, although, if you’ve ever seen Panic! live you know they always put on a great show!

Picture that I managed to get on my phone despite the crazy crowd.

Apparently I was one of the lucky few who were able to land tickets to the show with no trouble; some people informed me that the show sold out in minutes. It was nice having a stroke of luck after the near Fall Out Boy disaster. It was also great because then it only cost me around $25 to catch Panic!.

On the day of the show I wrestled with myself over what time I should show up to get in line. After deciding I didn’t have much better to do that day I headed over to the venue around 2:30 p.m. and arrived by 3 p.m. At this time there was already a line which, for this venue, was a little abnormal (I’ve showed up to shows where no one arrived until 30 minutes before the doors opened), but I kind of expected this with how quickly tickets went. When I got there the line wasn’t too large, but by about 5 p.m. the line quickly grew and was suddenly huge! Definitely the largest line I’ve ever witnessed at the Firebird.

I waited in line and chatted with some super awesome Panic! fans for about five hours before the doors opened. Once inside it was easy to see how quickly the small venue would fill up. I hopped in the crowd about three rows back from Brendon Urie’s mic, but it still felt crazy close since there was no barricade between the fans and the stage (this would prove dangerous as the night progressed). This show was also great because there were no opening acts! While I love seeing new bands, I have also sat through some terrible warm-up bands at the Firebird, and it was nice to get straight to Panic!.

Photo from the beginning of PATD’s set.

When Panic! came out onto the stage they did it with a roaring crowd and lots of energy! The band played through song after song, starting with “The Ballad of Mona Lisa”. They kept the set list interesting by playing several non-single songs to really get the true fans going. Songs from A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out made up a good chunk of the set list including songs: “The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage”, “Camisado”, “Time to Dance”, and of course all the singles. They also played several tracks from their underrated 2011 album Vices and Virtues and they played the two singles (“Miss Jackson” and “This Is Gospel”) off their upcoming album Too Weird To Live, To Rare To Die. They only managed to play “Nine in the Afternoon” off Pretty Odd, but that really wasn’t all that surprising (although, I do believe it’s shame because it really is a wonderful album).

Overall the night was pretty incredible despite constantly getting pushed back by crazy fans forcing their way forward (even after Panic! asked them not to) and almost witnessing more than a few cat fights, but you can hear more about that in my vlog on YouTube. Panic! are top notch performers and if you are a fan, their live show is not something to be missed. These guys will have you dancing your butt off, laughing till you cry, and give you a night that you likely won’t forget.

Brendon Urie smiling as he rocks it out on the guitar.

***You should also read the blog I posted on Blogger about my first experience seeing Panic! at the Disco! It was my first concert blog and I’m still pretty proud of it. You can read it here.

***Also keep checking back here every week I’m going to be doing stories on Avenged Sevenfold, AFI, Motion City Soundtrack, Bayside, and many more awesome random things in the months to come! You can still follow me on Twitter, Tumbler, and subscribe to my channel on YouTube!