REVIEW: Beeside Fest, Night 1
10/17/2024 at The Hangar on the Hudson, Troy
“As the kids say, Beeside Fest night one went hard.”
After many months of waiting, Beeside Fest returned to Troy last Thursday, beginning its run at The Hangar on The Hudson. The venue provided the intimate feelings of a garage rock show, both in the closeness of the space and camaraderie amongst bands and audience members. After getting my free Beeside Records t-shirt, it was time to rock out to Bruiser and Bicycle.
The group leaned into the eerie feelings of October, filling the room with deep bass, minor chords, and high pitch keyboard melodies. The harsh snare from Joe Taurone on the drums kept the songs grounded in the rock world, propelling them into uptempo tracks. Meanwhile, Nick Whittemore’s vocals were gritty and succinct, adding a punk feel to the already unique sound. They thrashed between the edges of these genres, grabbing listeners by the ear and pulling them in. Expertly, they opened up space for plenty of instrumental solos, which gave listeners who aren’t fans of harder-core music something to look forward to and revel in. I’m not a huge hardcore fan myself, but I found that I was really enjoying the set for all the different elements woven together.
Within their last few tracks, Whittemore and Keegan Graziane showcased some two part harmonies that added a “prettiness” to their sound, as well as finally throwing in a more upbeat-sounding song. However, that song was tongue-in-cheek of course and featured a circus-like tune to accompany the lyrics “put your mind in mercury.” During the bridge, Taurone pulled out a megaphone and shouted, “Everyone is looking for an answer,” a refrain the band repeated a few times, bleeding sincerity and empathy.
Following Bruiser, Sunbloc came up for a short, 20-minute set that just about blew the windows out of The Hangar. Matt Bradley’s full-force vocals filled any space left open between Sean Barney’s grungy drumming, building out a sound that encompassed every corner of the room. Bradley jumped and spun around the stage as fans moshed in front, transforming Beeside Fest from a small indie show to a full on punk concert.
Finally, Laveda came on stage to round out the night, debuting plenty of new songs that fans can look forward to hearing soon. The band seems to have abandoned their shoegaze era in favor of a harder sound, with Ali Genevich picking up an electric guitar, intensifying their volume. Genevich’s vocals were stronger and more forceful than previous live shows I’d seen and it rocked. She dipped back into a softer sound with their track “Surprise,” but kept things edgy for most of the night.
Any higher, pop punk-sounding notes out of Genevich were consistently balanced out by Dan Carr’s low, steady bass. Carr’s bass riffs were often prominent features, creating a back-and-forth between himself and Jake Brooks’ electric. Brooks himself seems to have embraced a bit of a frontman role alongside Genevich, the two of them trading off banter between songs and Brooks throwing himself into his playing (quite literally, as he often spun back and forth between the drum set and the crowd). I’d be remiss to exclude Joe Taurone, back for a second set with Laveda. Taurone’s drumming was just as strong, giving Laveda that extra grit they find in the transition from studio recording to live music.
As the kids say, Beeside Fest night one went hard. Despite it being a Thursday night, all three bands brought a crowd out to Troy and rocked for every single minute of their time on stage. With nights two and three at No Fun, the vibes surely continued to grow and the bands surely kept shredding. The only downside? We have to wait 365 days for the next one!