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On Nov. 19, The Long and Winding Roadshow descended on Pub Rock Live with intimate acoustic performances from a medley of musicians that felt more like a friendly jam session than a concert. With Brian Marquis, The Technicolors, Austin Gibbs, This Century and Nick Santino all taking the stage, the show was sure to be an eclectic musical treat.
It opened up with Warped Tour Acoustic Basement Tent creator Brian Marquis's aggressive, spirited set. Marquis paid tribute to everything from old baseball cards to his hometown of Boston.
With his powerful voice and enthusiastic harmonica playing, Marquis alone managed to fill the room better than some full bands are able to. With music that plays like a more poetic, acoustic Blink-182, Marquis left a slightly intimidating impression on the crowd as he prepared them for what was to come from the four other acts. His first full length, "Blood and Spirits," was released earlier this year on Equal Vision.
Up next was the Phoenix band The Technicolors, who entered the stage threatening to "soft rock (the crowd's) faces off." The band, who turned their melodic rock style songs into an acoustic set for this tour, were naturals on stage. Despite the change in style, the band's sound was as richly multidimensional, as their name would suggest.
The band was joined for the first two songs by guitarist Sean Silverman of This Century, demonstrating the close friendship and musical partnership shared between all of the musicians on the Roadshow.
Lead singer and guitarist Brennan Smiley, whose unassuming stage presence, musky voice and fabulously disheveled hair make the band's set a joy to watch, described the struggles of transferring to the acoustic set.
"It's fun getting into that acoustic headspace," Smiley said. "You have to try to create the tension of a band on stage in a different way and learn from that."
The high point of the band's set was their hit, "Sweet Time." As the first few chords rang out, the crowd cheered. The performance was minimalistic, with little in the way of talking between sets or onstage antics, yet the musicianship of Smiley and keyboardist Troy Lowney provided a deeply engaging set on their own.
The Technicolors were followed by Arizona solo artist Austin Gibbs. Gibbs, who can best be described as resembling a grizzly bear, played an energetic set as he ad-libbed, yodeled and yippee-ki-yayyed his way through his set.
Gibbs's ragged voice adds both refinement and authenticity to his performance, as he masterfully transitions from his rough growl to a soft croon at just the right points in his songs. Behind all of his noisemaking and crude jokes, Gibbs is a dramatic, soulful storyteller who kept the crowd engaged and excited through his, sadly, short set.
For his final song, Gibbs brought out The Technicolors' Smiley, This Century's Silverman and Nick Santino for a performance of his song "Jessica" in what he dubbed the Triple Berry Carnival Band.
The "band," an inside joke between the close friends on the tour, was named by Gibbs after eating Berry Carnival Pocky candy and seeing an advertisement for IHOP's Triple Berry Pancakes, according to Santino.
The combination of Gibbs and Santino's vocals on "Jessica" created a swelling chorus, punctuated by Gibbs rasping his way through the bridge, repeatedly moaning the line "I've been waiting" through the end of the song, upon which all of the musicians hugged and exited the stage.
Coming after Gibbs was Phoenix-based band This Century. This was the band's first hometown show in quite a while, after taking time off for lead singer Joel Kanitz to undergo two procedures for removal of a cyst on his vocal cords.
The band performed stripped-down versions of old songs, as well as the latest single, "Talk to Talk." The band displayed a clear maturity in sound and stage presence as compared to its poppy beginnings.
This new sound will be apparent on the band's new record, which guitarist Silverman hopes will be out in spring of 2015.
"We were all in a weird place, and I think we needed this record," Silverman said. "It's much more melancholy. It's the most rock record we've ever done; we've really matured in our musicianship."
This Century finished up the set by inviting tour manager Andrew Destefano, Smiley and Gibbs up for an acoustic rendition of the band's 2011 hit "Sound of Fire." The crowd energy was extraordinary, and the show was clearly a warm welcome back into the Phoenix scene for Kanitz and Silverman.
After This Century came the headliner for the night, Boston-bred singer-songwriter Nick Santino. Clad in jeans, a button down and a hat that could make him Fievel's twin, Santino opened up his set with "Have A Little Faith in Me." He continued with songs off of his full length, "Big Skies" (the name of which is a tribute to Phoenix's huge horizon according to Santino), as well as his two previous EPs.
The set's highlight came when Santino played one a song on one of his EPs, "Goddamn," preceding it by telling the audience that the song is about him checking in on someone too often and them becoming annoyed and no longer talking to him. However, with Santino's charmingly heartbreaking vocals and shy, polite demeanor, his performance of the song left the crowd asking themselves — "How could someone get annoyed with this?"
Santino, who cut his teeth in the industry on his now-defunct band A Rocket to the Moon, went solo about a year and a half ago and has had to adjust to holding a stage on his own.
"I feel like I've actually had to learn how to play guitar and to sing, because I have no band to fall back on," Santino said. "I've had to figure out ways to engage the crowd better on my own rather than having three other guys up there to talk with. I've definitely been learning and growing through it."
Santino's experience and prowess as a solo artist were clear as he enchanted the crowd over the loud voices from the bar at the back and utterly impressed with his poetic lyrics, smooth vocal drawl and friendly stage presence. His set proved to be a jovial revolving door of the other musicians on the tour, making a clear display of the camaraderie between this group of musicians.
"Usually with tours, there's this awkward period where you don't know anyone," Santino said. "But these guys, we're already so close. We were just able to jump right in and get weird. Imagine being in a van for three weeks straight with your best friends — it's bound to get a little strange."
And strange it did get when Santino invited the Triple Berry Carnival Band, this time featuring the entire tour, back onstage for his finale, "Long Way Home."
The boys danced, whooped and hugged their way through the song, even as Smiley interrupted it halfway through to play the Super Mario Bros. theme song (yes, the entire thing).
After "Long Way Home," they unexpectedly broke into the Triple Berry Carnival Band Theme Song which was equal parts country, folk, rock and vulgarity. The brotherly love was clear, and in the intimate setting, the audience was allowed to take part as they sang, danced and laughed along with the musicians.
As for Santino's plans for 2015, it would seem that the Triple Berry boys have inspired him to venture back into the way of the musical group.
"I want to form a band for my music," Santino said. "I'll get my Heartbreakers together, play my music with a little more power behind it. I can be Tom Petty — it'll be great."
Tell the reporter about your thoughts on Pub Rock's bathroom stall doors at ezentner@asu.edu or follow her in Twitter @emilymzentner
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