Grandlake Played Hemlock Tavern - PIctures, Review

Grand Lake performed a number of Bay Area shows in support of the release of their record Nevermint, and we managed to catch up with them at The Hemlock Tavern. The show was a solid entry into the band's rapidly expanding tally of live appearances. What's more, we were psyched to hear that the band is working on new material, and not slowing down any time soon.

Similar to the show we caught in Oakland, the band's sound continues to expand from the feel of the record. While the Nevermint has a manicured and stoic feel to it, the band's live shows really expand on the sound and give it a far more lively bent. Notably, Jameson Swanagon's guitars take the vibe from the solo on "Nevermint", and expand on it greatly. Combine that with the fact that the bass and drums are at 110% in the live setting, and you get a considerably more raucous affair than on the record.

In addition to giving the record's tunes some serious attention, the band also played some new tunes, which held up comfortably next to their recorded counterparts. We recently caught up with frontman Caleb Nichols, and apparently the band is already giving the new tunes studio time. Nichols emphasized that the band is really managing to capture their more fleshed out sound this time around, and also mentioned a forthcoming three track single. Tasty.

If you haven't managed to give Nevermint a listen, we highly recommend checking it out. It's an extremely solid dose of melodic indie pop, and will stick with you after the first listen. With the band so actively working on new material and booking dates, there really couldn't be a better time to be giving Grand Lake a little attention.

Grand Lake Spring 2009 Dates
Apr 10 The Uptown Oakland, California
Apr 17 Resource Center For Non-Violence (YES) Santa Cruz, California
Apr 18 Record Store Day! SLO ARTs Center San Luis Obispo, California
Apr 19 DIY SLO TBA KCPR I DON’T KNOW San Luis Obispo, California
Apr 29 Theee Knockout SAN FRANCISCO
May 14 Steynberg Gallery San Luis Obispo, California
May 16 Pehrspace Los Angeles, California
May 30 House Of Nostromo Oakland
Jun 11 El Rio San Francisco, California

More pictures at the HAD Archive