Photos & Review by Molly Free
It was a big weekend for Centerstage’s Vinyl with stacked shows Friday and Saturday brought to us by Bowe Inc. Kicking things off first, it was the boys club Friday night with Machine’s Are People Too with support from two of Atlanta’s own, The Electric Sons and Fox Grin. I recently saw Fox Grin earlier in the month, so I was excited to see them at another venue. Fellow Atlantans, Fox Grin is composed of Thomas Chapman, Zak Ray, David Bean, and Phillip Church. The band showcased more of their electric side of their music that I had yet to see as I last saw them in an acoustic setting. The locals have a very unique sound, which marries classic with modern, creating a very rare type of rock. I enjoyed this set and seeing a more powerful side to the band’s sound, a great way to start off the evening.
Taking the stage next was local duo, The Electric Sons. I had been listening to their EP and was really looking forward to hearing their sound live, and I was not disappointed. The guys behind the electric alternative duo, are keyboardist/vocalist Ben Richards and vocalist/guitarist Andrew Miller. There is an interesting story on how these two came together when Andrew left his job at FX Networks to team up with Ben a recent SCAD grad to create a truly infectious sound with a huge local following. Electric Sons energy and sound remind me of one of my favorite bands, Walk the Moon. I was really impressed with their local following; the place was packed with audience member’s knowing every word to their songs and jumping around with the boys. Their two newest singles “Keep YOUNG and Carry On”, and “Breathing Electricity” were anthem like and definitely audience pleasers. The set ended on an insane note with both Miller and Richards hopping around and banging on drums with electronic synth sound blaring behind the pounding of the drums. The Electric Sons are definitely a duo to keep on your radar and summer playlists. The duo is hunkered down working and writing but in the meantime be sure to check out their self titled EP on iTunes and Bandcamp.
Capping off the night, Nashville’s Machine’s Are People Too took the stage keeping up the high energy and dancing. The band formed in 2010 with members JJ Clark (production), Cain Lassiter (keys), Ivan Garcia (drums), and Brian Sylvester (vocals). Although claiming to be a mix of Cold War Kids meets M83, I think these guys are selling themselves short because for me their sound was unlike any other band I’ve heard recently. The band reminds me of a Tame Impala on Redbull as they have a powerful energy about them. The band covered 90’s artist Haddaway’s “What is Love (Don’t Hurt Me) cover which definitely was a highlight of the night. Feeding into the theme of the night of great energy, all of their songs were positive upbeat tunes leaving you no reason not to smile and dance. My favorite song was their most recent single, “Do What You Love” about being in the moment and being happy with what you have, which I know the message resonated with the young audience. The track features an elementary school choice singing in the chorus, which makes the track that, much more endearing. Machine’s just dropped their sophomore EP, “Nickels & Dimes” last week, another must have on your playlists this summer.
