Photos and re-cap by Whitney Lerch
Get Hip Recordings filled up pretty quickly with people of all ages on Saturday night, after the doors opened at 7pm for a powerful lineup. The show both opened and closed with duo groups who brought all the energy with Nox Boys in between, who only elevated the enthusiasm.
The Spectres, garage rock duo, opened up the night with a bang. The twosome met through a Craig’s List ad, several years back, but their chemistry would lead you to believe they’ve been making music together for all of their lives. James is incredible, with his thoroughly impressive ability to play guitar, drums and harmonize, all at once. Between sets, the crowd dispersed, between refilling beers and stepping outside for a quick second, as the The Spectres broke down.
But it wasn’t long before the room filled back up and Nox Boys hit the stage. Front man, Zack Keim, hit it hard from the start with strong vocals. His remarkable stage presence and ability to engage the crowd is always striking. Keim, paired with veteran slide guitarist Bob Powers, Sam Berman on drums and Mitch McDermott on bass, Nox Boys tore up the third floor of Get Hip. In fact, Keim quite literally tore up his own guitar strap during the set, but it was nothing a quick tape job couldn’t take care of. A little DIY fix and the show went on with vigor, as they turned up the heat throughout the rest of the set.
Straight out of Cleveland, Ohio, Archie And The Bunkers were up next to close out the night. Brothers Emmett and Cullen O’Connor make up this HI FI organ pop duo, with Cullen on keys, Emmet keeping the beats on drums and both on vocals. The group’s throwback name is no indication that they are, themselves out of the ’70’s. The young, powerhouse sibs pumped up the room and got Nox Boys frontman crowd surfing and had created something of a mosh pit by the end of the night, with Emmet off the kit and into the crowd. The dynamic verve was maintained from start to finish. Emmet commented early on that he was missing his neighborhood garage sale for this show and I’d have to think that by the end of it all he had realized this night was well worth that sacrifice.
Archie & the Bunkers
Nox Boys
The Spectres
Don’t miss the Nox Boys and Zack Keim performing solo, Saturday, July 14 at Deutschtown Music Festival
