Author: Haley Parsons
Photo by Eric Tra
From my perch in the Under 21 Balcony at Neumos, I could see the venue start to fill up as the crowd prepared to witness Summer Cannibals, Melkbelly, and Bully. The show had sold out, so it was bound to be a special night for all three bands.
Summer Cannibals made the trek from Portland and treated the lucky Seattle audience with their presence for this one-off show. The female-led band put on a super cool, no nonsense set that I really respected. The chemistry between guitarist, Jessica Boudreaux and bassist, Jenny Logan was apparent and fun to see. Their sound was raw and encouraging to see from a female-led band. Their songs were easy to head band to and they were clearly having a good time, so the audience did too.
Photo by Haley Parsons
While waiting for the Melkbelly, the lady next to me, who was a MASSVIE Bully fan asked me if I knew who the next band was. I told her their name and disclosed that they were kind of “experimental” to which she was like “ok cool”. When they walked on stage, it was clear that Melkbelly were of a similar breed as Summer Cannibals, but showcased music that I, as a listener had to wrestle with to see if I actually liked. I was leaning toward the idea that I was pretty into vocalist and guitarist, Miranda Winters, but the reaction of my new friend to their set only halfway through really sealed the deal. She totally LOVED Melkbelly and wouldn’t stop telling her friends about it. Her joy was so sweet, and I imagined that she went home and listened to Melkbelly’s music nonstop. Although, they’re heavier than some of the music I’d normally be drawn to, Melkbelly put on an excellent show and gained a fan in me, too.
Photo by Eric Tra
To cap off the night, our headliner, Bully, took the stage, a little later than expected, but ready to put on a killer show. Frontwoman, Alica Bognanno stole the show with her ability to generate her sandpaper signature scream from her slight stature. She was a mess of ratty blonde hair and all black attire as she commanded the audience’s attention from behind the microphone. They kicked the set off with “Feel the Same” then launched into a fast-paced sequence of most of the songs from Losing with a couple of gems from Feels Like. Alicia’s energy was easily matched by that of her bandmates. Reece Lazurus turned out to be one of my favorite and most energetic bassists around, plus he’s from Seattle! He had even gotten his teeth cleaned earlier that day by his dentist, who went to the show that night to support him (isn’t that wholesome?).
Speaking of wholesome, Bully’s fans are ride or dies for sure. Everyone over 21 was in the pit moshing their little hearts out – it truly made me jealous. Luckily, Bully will be back in July for our very own, Capitol Hill Block Party! You’ll find me front and center for that show in the pit and if you want to join me, tickets are available here!
Be sure to keep up with all these super cool, up and coming bands:
Summer Cannibals: Twitter | Facebook
HALEY PARSONS | a very stressed | KXSU Music Reporter