Sky Stage in Frederick, MD is a treat. It wasn’t a smooth easy-going treat – indeed, just about everything that COULD go wrong DID go wrong today, but the show itself was just so joyous – such a celebration of everything that we are, and we were even rewarded with a great review from a blogger that we didn’t know was in the audience… one with a nice enough space that it has a cachet of a press review!
(the blog was reprinted, literally, by the News-Post of Frederick, MD – on their website and in print – huzzah!) – 7/19/19 – rob
We’ve been working towards this show for a LONG time. We couldn’t make it happen the first year when they offered it to us, and this second year it seemed like the stars aligned, but barely. And maybe there was some level of celestial chaos still rubbing off on the show as things lined up to give us three outdoor gigs in a row (Sky Stage has walls, but no roof) on the hottest weekend of the year so far (the felt-like temps DID finally drop below the high 80s but… holy crap). Yeah, there was something in the air beyond just the heat and humidity.
Car angst, printer difficulties at my house. Printer problems at Heather’s house. Kristen got a little sick. The place we were going to for lunch closed early. This. That. The other. Our opening act got sick and canceled that morning. Tech details got overlooked and / or ignored and the first person who showed up (“oh, I’m not running sound tonight, I’m just going to help set things up!”) assured us everything was under control – just as the SECOND person who showed up (“oh, I sometimes run sound – but not tonight!”) got underfoot while helping things get set up and assuring us everything was under control until the THIRD guy who showed up (who’d I’d actually been communicating with, who had theoretically looked over our tech sheet and written back “looks great!”) started counting and realized he’d have to cut some channels.
Sigh – so even as the gig kicked off in this beautiful space I had misgivings – no mics for the cajon or the djembe – we’ll just have to smack’em harder… but quickly those misgivings are forgiven. We have a fantastic audience (barring that one woman…) and we have a fantastic night – the temperatures dropped 20 degrees from when we’d showed up – and though throughout the night I sweated off finger pick after finger pick – ME having the sloppiest night I’ve had in… in forever… barely effected the absolutely beautiful nature of the performance.
I adored being able to play with Sharif and Rowan – there was enough space where we weren’t tripping over one another, and with the canceled opening act, enough time to feel like we could say all we wanted to say.
My favourite moment of the night was when a couple of people walking past outside stopped to dance and whirl as we played “My Demons”. I adored the knowledge that somehow they’d stumbled across us and we’d become part of their memory of their night. It’s a beautiful thing about music – insinuating ourselves into dates and meetings… we’re not romantic, but the very nature of what we do very much IS.
With my wireless guitar I was able to scurry outside and thank them for dancing.
Beautiful night indeed.
Here’s the review:
This band is extremely versatile, incredibly skilled and uniquely diverse genre-wise. Didgeridoo, tribal drumming (hand drums and cymbals), gloomy acoustic or wild electric guitar with EBow, strings, keyboard and a great live sound gives way to lots of dynamics within a style that’s very much their own; reflecting influences from indigenous tunes along with dark and edgy folk numbers, the band ultimately provides the most interesting in-your-face blend of rock through whatever direction they choose for any given song.
Half of the band members switch instruments throughout different sections and it’s mind-boggling how they’re all so multi-talented. The same goes for the band vocally as three different lead singers take turns on vocal duties… all of them have amazing voices that are equally distinguishable – this also reflects in each of their songwriting styles.
One song had me write the following: Fiery vocals full of passion channel themselves through dark vibes chordwise and with a low tuned guitar and thick male vocals through growls/throat singing mesh with female backing support that’s direct and clear. All of this makes the band an unstoppable driving force.
As if you didn’t already think the band seems like the furthest thing from ‘typical”, two of the members rocked kilts on stage. You may also find it fascinating that the most successful piece of merch ilyAIMY sells is a cookbook. They went on to explain, “we don’t have any for sale, but the way to win over our hearts is by telling us we sound awesome and making us a recipe from our own cookbook.”
Another aspect that can’t be overlooked is the group’s complex and intriguing song topics. The most touching and emotionally raw track came from the female singer who presented a tale of depression about finding ways to process and overcome your own demons. A young couple danced passionately outside of Sky Stage to the song as they locked eyes and embraced the beautiful night and wonderful music under the stars.
Declan Poehler | the News-Post | What Is Frederick?
