The Everyday Visuals at the Big Easy - 5/17

The Everyday Visuals put on another amazing show last Thursday night. Since I was more familiar with their music for this concert, so it was a lot more enjoyable.

One of the best things I like about The Everyday Visuals is watching them perform. The band is made up of very talented musicians, and that's why I was right up front to see them.

Christopher had a lot of fun being the frontman. He had some cool interaction with the audience, and he had a crazy piano playing session during one of the band's older hits, "Seven".

Joe is a great percussionist/drummer. The drumming of The Everyday Visuals isn't your everyday stuff. Unlike a lot of rock and roll drumming, the entire drum kit wasn't used all the time. The percussion was layered really well with the rest of the music, so it didn't sound like it was too overpowered. It was really cool to see how precise Joe was with getting every hit on time.

Chris was to be seen strumming on his bass most of the time. He has a really great background vocal for the song "Watertown Yard", and he provided some harmonies with other members for other songs.

Kyle had some driving guitar solos, and he also made some cool sounds with his guitar for other songs. He played the synthesizer for songs like "Said and Done", and without his work, the songs wouldn't sound as whole.

I can't forget about Eli, last but not least. He provided some very good guitar work as well, and he also played the piano and did some background vocals for some of the songs.

Before the show, I asked Christopher about a possible Radiohead allusion in the song "Why Would You Say These Things To Me? (Reprise)", but it turns out to be a cool coincidence as he told me with a big grin. At 1:367 of the song, the guitar sounds extremely similar to that of Radiohead's "Sulk" from their album The Bends. I was surprised, because I know that Radiohead is a fairly big influence on them, but I think it's pretty cool that it was completely unintentional. I'm sure something was happening on the subconscious level, though.

For this show, The Everyday Visuals played a lot more of their newer stuff. Though I was only a little disappointed that they didn't play "Tiger Suit", I liked hearing their new content. My favorite song from the show was probably "I'll Take It All In Stride", because I hadn't listened to it too much before. The song just "clicked" for me there, and now I'm in love with the song.

I'm hoping to see The Everyday Visuals again sometime this summer. Man, I must be becoming a groupie or something. Well, there is a reason for that, and that's because they're a great band. I take great pride in having them represent some of New England's finest and youngest bands of today. I really hope more people get into them, because they really are one of a kind.

If you'd like to sample their music, just visit their Myspace. Their newest album, "Things Will Look Up", is available on iTunes and at independent music stores.

Oh, and I have to comment about The Baltic Sea, the band that played before The Everyday Visuals. They were very good. They reminded me a lot of Tool with their prog rock/metal ways. They kind of got me pumped for the big Tool show in July. If you're into abstract, progressive music, I highly suggest you check out Portland's own The Baltic Sea.

I wanted to see Hiss & Chambers, but it was way too late when they came on. From what I heard on the sound check, they sounded great, and the music was just for me: New Wave dance music. I'll have to check them out some other time.