Welcome to the last stop on the Great Northern Tourzine sponsored by Filter Magazine. For the final performance of their months on the road, Great Northern had the air of a band that was ready to be done with the road but also played with the excitement as if this were the first shows of many to come.

First on the bill was local big band Bad Dream, Good Breakfast. I caught their set the Georgetown music festival but wasn’t overawed. This time was different though. The wide open air of the festival couldn’t capture the sonic nuance and softness of the strings that seemed to fill the Croc’s small room. With four and a half string players (the bassist sometimes played a standup bass), two keyboardists and two guitar players, a drum and a bass, this band fills up the entire stage and manages to sound as big as their presence suggests.

Despite the large footprint, their songs are moody and restrained. Having so many people can create different problems for bands, but Bad Dream, Good Breakfast never seemed to be stepping on each others toes or trying to do too much. While I’m not totally sold on all their material, they sounded super tight were a perfect fit as an opener for Great Northern.

The Coma’s joined Great Northern on tour and had been traveling the country with them, garnering some good talk as they traveled. For my first time seeing them without knowing any of their stuff, I was impressed by their commitment to the performance and drive of the songs. In stark contrast to the band that came before them and would come after them, the Comas were here to rock and “sweat buckets of Patron” in the process. They played maybe a bit too loud, with the vocals being lost in wash of guitar and the thumping bass (which was so heavy the backstage door would pop right open again after it had been shut, a comedy of sorts that repeated itself many times over during their set).

I hadn’t seen Great Northern prior to this night, but was familiar with their latest album and enjoyed the synthy boy-girl dynamic. I find the album contemplative and moody, a rainy day album if you will. Not sad, just quieter. Live though they came across much louder than expected and watching the performance it sunk in just how much the loved what they were doing.

Part of what I like so much about this band is the unafraid vocal interplay between guitar player Solon Bixler and female vocalist and keyboard player Rachel Stolte. The layering of the male-female combination and the number of ways in which they choose to use it gives each song a unique depth and a warmth, makes each song a new listening experience. Rachel seems to lead as much as Solon, and often they sing the same lines at the same time.  

All three of the bands had badass bass players, but Great Northern’s was the most badass of them all. While the Comas’ bassist had a mean headbang going on, GN’s bassist Ashley Dzerigian walked on stage with the rock star look, and played with a smooth and confident demeanor, a package I couldn’t help but be impressed by. Dressed all in black, her shirt sported ruffles and frilly things and yet she still managed to stare me down effortlessly as though she was justifying her presense to a bunch of doubting heavy metal crowd.

“Telling Lies” was for me the highlight of the set and came out being a full on rock song that plays to this band’s strengths perfectly. For the final song “Into the Sun” the Comas joined Great Northern on stage and played percussion and sang backup vocals, prancing around the stage for a joyful climax to the tour. 

(A note on the Great Northern pictures: There were not pixies dancing around the stage last night. The little green artifacts on pictures are a result of my new UV filter. Apparently the Christmas lights are special or something and this filter I just got doesn’t do a good job of handling them. With the drum picture below it created kind of a cool effect though.)