Written by Haley Parsons
Columbia City Theater was the setting of Thursday, April 5th’s interestingly sweet combo of local collective, Strawberry Mountain, and California boys, Sure Sure.
Strawberry Mountain really knew how to put on a show, thanks in part to lead singer, Carter Prince boldly going where no singer has gone before in terms of voice fluctuation and epic freak-out style dance moves. The only slightly disappointing part of the show was the fact that a mosh pit didn’t break out during their performance of “Friend Vicodin”, which was a darker, but excellent choice amongst the more cosmic, psych-pop driven set-list. Despite the lack of moshing, there was plenty of dancing going on in the room, coupled with clapping and “WOOOOs” after each song. In fact, the crowd was so supportive that Prince invited everyone back to the band’s house and offered to play Yahtzee with them. Unfortunately, he was informed that the roommates didn’t actually have that game but suggested everyone could just sit on the couch and stare at one another. With that tempting offer, Strawberry Mountain’s set reached its glittery and out of this world, synth-driven climax. I adored their courageous and charismatic performance because they walked onto that stage as strangers to most of their audience but left with some new fans. Their sound is groovy and fun, but their lyrics can be full of concepts like self-doubt and the struggle of growing up, the product of that combination is music that is not only fun to listen to but provides a bit of comfort to the listener who is probably struggling with some of the same things. Plus, these dudes are fun to watch and it’s evident they love to play together.
The first thing I noticed during Sure Sure’s set was the dance move fans have created from Mike the Maraca Guy’s Maraca shaking technique. They pretty much just mimed like they were also shaking the instrument as he did it. The awesome thing about a venue like Columbia City Theater is that the bands can see their audience and laugh along with them. That pretty much set the tone for the whole set, Sure Sure’s fans were there to have a good time and the band came through. They delivered favorites like “The Girls” and “New Biome”. Plus, “Hands Up Head Down” which came with its own self-explanatory dance move that kept the crowd bopping to the baseline. I was expecting them to play their cover of “This Must Be the Place” but they opted to play “The Expert”, which I respected because it prevented fans from hearing the same set list from their tour with Hippo Campus. Sure Sure are like the Jack Johnson of Indie Pop, their music makes you feel good and they’re heavily appreciated by their fans. With that support and their irresistibly sweet sound, they’ll go far.
The show ended relatively early (10:30ish), which was nice for this tired music reporter, but Sure Sure hung out and met every last one of their fans who wanted a photo or to say hi, and Strawberry Mountain stuck around too. It was very intimate and informal atmosphere, which can be difficult to achieve, but priceless when everything falls into place. If you weren’t at this gig, you surely missed out!
Follow Strawberry Mountain on Spotify and be on the lookout for their upcoming album! Plus, give ‘em a like on Facebook! Same goes for Sure Sure, who have tons of tunes on Spotify and a sweet Facebook, too!
HALEY PARSONS | I had never been to Columbia City before this show | KXSU Music Reporter