Solo Harpist Hooves and Beak takes Sound Off! Semifinal #2
By Yvette JRemember in the last episode of Glee, when Rachel Barry claimed that “you either want to go first or last?” To go first means that everyone gets compared to you or it is great to go last because you’re fresh in the judges’ minds. I was a firm believer in that statement, until I attended the second round of the semifinals of the Sound Off! competition put forth by the Experience Music Project. The superstars of the night would be three great bands: A Cozy Kitchen, The Cat From Hue and Pan Pan alongside a solo superstar, Hooves and Beak. Clearly the order the artists went in did not matter much here. If anything, the better acts played 2nd and 3rd, not first or last.
The Cat From Hue. Photo by Brady Harvey.The night started with A Cozy Kitchen, a three person band from Bellingham. This trio gladly reminded me of Modest Mouse. The lead guitarist’s vocals surprised me, in a good way. Their music wasn’t particularly a favorite of mine, naturally not being a fan of folk music, but they simply weren’t bad. As they kept playing their set, they performed better with time. Not bad for a first act.Next up was Camano Island’s The Cat From Hue. It was clear that the audience was mostly made up of their fans—the audience response was great. They clearly brought the whole island with them and packed the EMP. This band was a personal favorite of mine and as I sat in the back listening intently to their lyrics and swaying to their music, I imagined doing the same exact thing at Bumbershoot, just a couple of months from now. Their music helps me to appreciate folk music much more and they had a much stronger stage presence as they were performing. Their lyrics related more to the simple things in life and to something that matters a lot to us Washingtonians: the Pacific Northwest.
Semifinal #2 winner Hooves and Beak. Photo by Brady Harvey.