By the time flor took to the stage at 9:46 p.m. Tuesday night March 3, the sticky floor at Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room didn’t matter at all since the well-known basement bar venue was so packed it was tough for the mostly college-age and under (with the youngest fan, age 11, front and center) crowd to do anything more than sway to the catchy, indie rock/pop sounds. One of the few sold-out shows during their first headlining tour, flor’s Zach Grace noted as such saying “you made this happen,” beaming his easy smile.
Supporting their September 2019 album release ley lines, flor is on their first headlining tour across the U.S. Melding their bouncy, atmospheric swirly synths with Grace’s falsetto often woven in, flor is well on their way to capturing more and more hearts beyond college radio play.
More photos of flor: http://bit.ly/flor20cz
Before playing “restless soul,” Grace shared that it’s about “things going completely wrong but remembering there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
About halfway through their 70-minute set, Grace joked about being “one big dairy bomb” after having one of Fitz’s ice cream floats earlier.
“St. Louis you’re a dream,” Grace stated. “Please dance extra hard on these next couple of songs as we’re going into the feel-good portion.” The band then dove into “where do you go” and “dancing around” to which the rapt crowd spontaneously started singing along.
Other songs throughout the night included a cover of Coldplay’s “Yellow” along with “aiming low,” “moonday,” and ended with the light, airy “warm blood.”
Add ley lines to your summer road trip playlist or laid back party in a wide-open space.
Being in St. Louis, upon hearing the name Winnetka Bowling League one might (incorrectly) guess they’re from the outskirts of Chicago but they are not. At just over a year playing, the relative newcomers call L.A. home and with their bright, carefree, catchy, upbeat tunes full of sunshine it’s apparent warm temps and ocean breezes play a part in their sound. Animated and chatty, frontman Matthew Koma shared many quirky stories including how he and keyboardist Sam Beresford met and the secret Sam shared that eventually became “Diane.”
During their nearly 35-minute set, we learned they were supposed to perform in St. Louis last fall at the now-closed Firebird so they didn’t come through. Koma also shared his newly formed love of Blueberry Hill and all the photos of, well, everyone and how “there should be a photo of us.”
Koma told the crowd “Kombucha” is about “a narcissist who moved from Indiana to California and works at Whole Foods and does hot yoga,” and that their single “CVS” was, in part, about him “driving around at 2:30 in the morning trying to find an apology gift” and that nothing else was open.
Winnetka Bowling League’s sound is perfect for those summer days cruising around with the top/windows down or dancing around at a pool party.
St. Louis’ Thames (pronounced thaymes) opened the night with their balance of pop, indie, electronic rock to a growing crowd.
The Riverfront Times said “Thames is the logical evolution of the modern-day boy band. They’re not doing pop or choreographed dance moves — that’s kid stuff — but they are effectively blurring the lines between alternative and indie rock in a radio-ready way unlike any other in town.”
Songs included “Alta Delta” and “Advertaste,” which lead vocalist Gabriel Jackson expressed it was a little harder than some of their other material and that he wrote it about “how much I hate” 54.
More photos of all the bands from the night: http://bit.ly/flor20cz
Up next at Duck Room: https://blueberryhill.com/shows/
