Calming indie sounds mixed with the fast tempos of rock n roll come together in a fun way. Tonight’s bands were on opposite ends of the spectrum but they came together and created a fun show for the people of Phoenix, Arizona.
The show for the night was sold out and by showcase of only two bands! The nights show was about to be a fun, and epic night for those who were attending. The first band to hit the stage was Late Night Drive Home. Late Night Drive Home is from El Paso, Texas. The band is made up by Andre Portillo-singer/guitar, Juan “Ockz” Vargas-guitar, Freddy Baca-bass and Brian Dolan-drums. The band originally started as a lo-fi duo by Portillo and Vargas in 2019 and then in 2021 they transitioned into indie rock.
As soon as the band came to the stage the crowd clapped and yelled. Many people have discovered this band through different avenues of music but the most discussed one was through TikTok. As the band played the audience sang along, some people danced in the packed room. The band played “Television Romantic” and it was their prettiest song. The song seamlessly transitioned from English to Spanish in the middle of it and no one noticed. That’s how flawless the transition was. The audience ate the song up and it was their most memorable song of the night.
The stage hands helped the band members tear down their set up and get the final band’s set up their instruments. The final band to hit the stage was Quarters of Change. The band started in 2017 as a high school cover band from New York, New York. The bands line up is formed by Ben Roter-vocals/guitar, Ben Acker-guitar/bass, Attila Anrather-drums, and Jasper Harris-guitar/bass.
As soon as the lights dimmed for them to come to the stage the crowd went absolutely nuts. The crowd pushed themselves closer to the front, cramming themselves more into each other like a can of sardines. The band began to play and everyone went wild. Everyone could be heard singing along to every song. Others were dancing their heart outs and the rest had their cellphones out recording their favorite songs.
Roter finally began to talk to the audience after a few songs. Roter said “I don’t know if you know a lot about us but we all went to the same high school. Yesterday we found out our friend Oded…and he died. So we want to dedicate this next song to him”. They played their song “To Let Go”, originally written about the time it took to heal from their father passing away at an early age. Everyone sang along to this song; it’s the song that hits the heart chords the most.
Everyone love Quarters of Change’s set. Every person was enthralled in their set, there was never a dull moment. It was winding down to the final time in the night, the time for the set to close out and the show to be over. Roter addressed the audience for the final time that night. He said ” Can we play one more song for you Phoenix? This song is the reason we wrote this album. This song is called ‘Rift'”.
The crowed was ecstatic with glee as the band performed. Their energy taking over the stage, moving al about, jumping, dancing and headbanging all over. When the song ended the band abruptly left the stage. Roter was the first to exit with the rest following behind. The audience kept screaming one more, one more over and over as their voices went horse. The band never returned and what seemed like for ever but was probably ten minutes in reality, the stage hands began to break down the set. That’s when the fans realized the show was officially over.
Quarters of Change
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