Kalamashoegazer 16 (Day One) at Bell's Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo, MI
by Eric Eggleson
Yes, that 16 means it's the 16th one! Bell's Brewery 's Eccentric Cafe was a great host with a nice selection of beers and food. Los Angeles' DKFM made the trip again DJing between sets.
This year's two day version kicked off with Detroit's Origami Phase. Their too short set featured the vocally trained gift of Brenna, as well as, some fine musicianship from the rest of the band. Loved their "yet to released" opening song, "Where To Begin."
Origami Phase is a combination of lush vocal harmonies, sonic shoegaze, and hypnotic dreampop.
Next up, Kalamazoo's Cardboard Highway's trio packed all they could into the slowcore side of the scene.
Just down the road, Indianapolis' Fern Murphy put the "S" in shoegaze with their sonic sound.
Up next, another newer Kalamazoo band on the scene, Overly Polite Tornadoes, delivered an amazing set of beats and loops with distorted guitar. Quite the wall of sound for a duo.
Chicago's Lightfoils ended the evening with dueling guitars blasting the crowd into sonic bliss.
Be sure to check out the highlights of day 2 tomorrow.
