Sandcarvers-Rockford-Waterfront 2007

This could be the shortest review that I’ve written about a Sandcarvers show to date.

Why? 

Simply put, this was the best Sandcarvers show that I have seen/heard.  Hands down.  The best one.  Ever.  (and I have been to a LOT of SC’s shows over the years!)

End of review.

Not really.  (come on, it’s me!)

The Sandcarvers did an amazing job at Waterfront!  They floored me, actually.  Made my brain bleed.  There isn’t even a hint of a question of whether or not they topped their previous shows-they all out smashed them to bits.  This was IT!

It was one of those nights-one of those shows that you know you will never forget.  The crowd was on.  The band was on.  The sound was incredible.  The lighting was fantastic.  The stage was huge and looked COOL.  The weather was perfect.  It’s just….it was the opposite of a ‘Spinal Tap’ show-everything was turned up to eleven, sure-but it was in a ‘this is it, this is why we do this’ way.  It was a perfect example of why music should be live, why people get out of their homes and go to shows…why music…

is….

The crowd?  Large.  A very large crowd.  A large crowd that didn’t leave until the show was over.  (YAY!)  People were sitting at the beginning of the set (as is true in most festival settings).  Save for a few, the Waterfront crowd wasn’t familiar with the Sandcarvers music.  It didn’t matter.  The SC’s won that crowd over in no time.  Really, they did.

It started with three.  Three gals came over and danced in front of the merch table.  They actually said “those girls are dancing-we’ll go by them”.  WOO HOO!  (‘those girls’ =me and Amber)  The gals were joined by a few more people…and then a few more people…and then… well, the front of the stage was FULL of crazy singing dancing clapping MOSHING leaping spinning in awe of the band yelling silly people.  LOTS of dancers!  I’m not joking about the moshing, either.  It happened.  It was SO rock and roll!  A mosh pit at the SC’s?  YES!  There were a ton of guys dancing!  Guys!  Dancing!  (more of a stomping, lurching thing…but dancing nonetheless!)  It was the kind of crowd a band dreams of, a crowd that should be packaged up to take with to every gig.  (instant crowd!  just add water!)

Holy hell the SC’s played well!  Seemingly effortlessly.  If there were mistakes, they were covered.  The music just, it just happened.  It became a living, breathing thing.  The solos were larger than life, the harmonies better…  everything hit the mark.  Nothing was ‘too much’.  You could hear all of the instruments, all of the vocals.  It was truly the best that I have heard the Carvees sound.

The Sandcarvers were a band at Waterfront.  Sounds weird-but it wasn’t about separate players, it was a band thing.  (I’m telling ya, everything…and I mean everything.. came together at this show!)  The music was fun and engaging and electric and contagious and it rocked that crowd out of their bleepin’ heads!  (wasn’t just my head exploding at this show, oh no, there were brains leaking out of ears all over the place.  ew.)  The connection between the crowd and the band was unbelievable.  I mean, you could SEE it… it just kept going back and forth-building and building and…  man oh man… it was cool. 

The Sandcarvers put on a performance~ a full on show.  It was entertainment.  Not just some folks with some instruments playing AT you…  it wasn’t a ‘job’-it was music at it’s best. 

Merch FLEW off of the table.  It just flew.  People wanted to ‘keep’ the moment.  The ‘buzz’ was LOUD-people couldn’t stop talking about the music. 

This was a keeper.

This is what the Sandcarvers can do.  This show sets the example. 

Damn, this is a good band.

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~ by celtgal on September 25, 2007.