Covid changed a lot of things. It changed family dynamics because parents would turn their kids into orphans. It changed priorities as people realised they didn’t have time to climb the bullshit ladder. It changed personalities as people realised what was and what was not important to them.
And all the above changed entire communities. Pre covid, I would walk down the city streets with my friends and hop into whatever bar had good live music coming from inside. We’d go in, check out the band, grab a beer, and bounce until we found the next enticing sound.
Post covid, I have no friends and only one running joke. Anyways, tonight’s show of Messer, Electric Condor, and Grenata Rose reminded me of those pre covid times.
Sometimes you’d walk into a venue and see a band that, despite being all heavily tattooed males, was breastfeeding their “It Factor”; aka, bands that you know will pop off in 5 years time. It was magical, it was awesome, tonight it was Grenata Rose and Electric Condor minus the tattoos.
Grenata Rose recently gave birth to their It Factor. Timid, yes, but that’s what happens when you have to give your teet up to your It Factor. While tonight they were adorable, I can see their It Factor growing up into a confident rock and roll group with blistering emotion intertwined with pre-recorded elements because where the fuck was that live sounding bass coming from y’all have no bass player?
Electric Condor’s It Factor recently got off the titty and into the formula, or whatever comes next after sucking on boobies (I’m not a dad). Their It Factor will probably grow into a jammy dancey rock group with custom light shows that take up half their tour rehearsal time, but ends up captivating audiences and being totally worth it.
Sometimes you would stumble upon exactly what you’ve been looking for for weeks. Like, I’ve been looking for a bluesy rock group that isn’t Shaman’s Harvest or Royal Bliss, and this entire show was basically that. Bluesy rock with bands I can say, “I saw them before they popped off!” And when I’m homeless, I can sell their photos for sandwich money!
And sometimes, just sometimes, you would happen upon something that makes you feel dirty because you’re not supposed to see it. Like when Billy Joe Armstrong joined a Green Day cover band at a dive pub in London. Or like a comedian who wrote some jokes an hour earlier and decided to test them out on you and your friends and whomever else is in this little bar they have no connection to. Or like if Amy Lee was in a quiet little restaurant and her family persuaded her to play the old piano in the corner and boom! – acoustic Evanescence set.
That’s Messer. A band you shouldn’t be able to stumble upon in such an intimate environment. But we did. And we enjoyed it. It felt dirty, yes, but that’s what happens when bands decide to play a show too intimate for their career. It was like we were watching a rehearsal for an upcoming coast to coast tour which, judging by what I saw, should be a pretty entertaining tour! Lots of energy, lots of ambiance, lots of rock and fucking roll!
Grenata Rose and Electric Condor are early enough into their careers where the things you see on this page will probably still apply over the next 3-5 years. But everything you see about Messer here, to continue the analogy above – how often do you see Amy Lee playing an acoustic Evanescence set in a quiet restaurant?
Probably not a lot. Which means, as far as Messer is concerned, your mileage may not be as lucky as we were tonight.
It’s been 4 years since covid became a thing. During that time, the majority of us learned how to respect one another in public. We learned how to best protect ourselves in public. And medical maniacs learned how to fight covid to the point where, yes, it probably can finally be compared to a bad bad flu.
So can we bring back bar hopping with friends? Finding hidden gems in dirty dive bars that are known for their music and trough urinals? Making decisions with our ears instead of… however we make decisions now? I found 3 bands tonight that were exactly what I was looking for musically and made me feel like I was seeing a one in a million gig. What did you find?
I won’t sugarcoat it – I make sick fucking merch. And that alone is worthy of a donation. And when I release more sick fucking merch, you’ll know about it from my mailing list.
