The Colourist keep their audience entertained at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix on Wednesday night by rejoining the crowd for an encore performance of their hit song "Little Games". (Photo by Brittany Schmus)The members of indie rock group The Colourist are very good salesmen.
On Wednesday night at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix, The Colourist played another set for their headlining tour. It was not the first time the band has been in the Valley of the Sun but it was the first time it was the main act.
Currently the California band is in an interesting stage in its career. It has become popular enough to be the last act on a tour, yet has not released a full album.
Singer and guitar player Adam Castilla understood this dilemma and apologized to the crowd early in the show.
“We get to play longer (as the headliner),” Castilla said. “Sorry you don’t know a lot of the songs on the album, but be patient, it’s coming out soon.”
In fact later on in the show, singer and drummer Maya Tuttle said it was coming out later in March. The band’s self-titled debut album, “The Colourist,” is set to release officially on March 25.
Even though Castilla apologized, the band used the fact its niche fans did not know some of the songs to its advantage. With the new album coming out at the end of the month, The Colourist used the show in Phoenix as a chance to tease their fan base with new music.
A lot of the unknown songs performed Wednesday night sounded very much like any other typical song by The Colourist. They featured very catchy guitar scale leads throughout tracks and have always relied on the back-and-forth duets between Castilla and Tuttle.
Those types of songs can be expected.
But it was the new songs that featured different vibes and a different style of songwriting that, ultimately, left fans wanting more.
Two songs during the show really differentiated themselves from the rest.
Toward the very end of the set, Castilla pulled out an acoustic guitar. Usually, all five members start playing along in unison from the beginning. This song began solely with Castilla’s guitar and vocals.
It was a more melancholy love song called “Stray Away,” and Castilla sang perhaps more sensitive lyrics.
“I don’t want to fall in love / But I fear it’s too late to let love stray away.”
Then in the middle of the show, Castilla said into the microphone, “Who here has had any crazy exes? This song is about them.”
The band broke into a song presumably called “Wild One,” that was different than the rest as well. It had more of a minor key focus, which changed the overall sound of the song and differentiated itself to fans.
Fans did show up to hear the songs they knew and love, and throughout the show the Colourist did not disappoint.
The Colourist satisfied its fans by playing all the songs off its debut EP “Lido.” Among the four tracks played was "We Won't Go Home." The band ended its encore with the its most popular, catchy single “Little Games.”
Although “Little Games” is definitely the band's most crowd-pleasing song, it was the new music showcased Wednesday night that caused audience members to walk over to the merchandise table after the show and pre-order The Colourist’s new album.
Reach the reporter at ehubbard@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Edmund_Hubbard
