The Glass House
Cherry Glazerr
6/9/16
Cherry Glazerr, arguably one of the most unique and talented bands to have released music through Burger Records, played at The Glass House with opening acts from Thee Commons, The Buttertones, and direct support from Sex Stains. Clementine (Clem) Creevy, lead singer and solo guitarist of Cherry Glazerr was in rare form, and from the stage she told the crowd that last Thursday’s gig was better than any she’s ever played at this venue. There were myriad styles coming from the bands on stage—one being cumbia-punk, another being ‘50s influenced, and two being powerfully female fronted-a broad audience of about 300 people was attracted to The Glass House that night.
Thee Commons were the first to perform. Typically, the opening band has a hard time getting fans to show up early. In this case, it was the complete opposite. With over 150 eager fans listening to Thee Commons play their cumbia-punk fused jams, there wasn’t a still body in the house. Fueled by the red white and green stage lights, the band helped the crowd tap into their Latin rhythm, regardless of ethnicity or exposure to the genre. Even people in the pit were dancing cumbia as they were getting jabbed in the face.
Next were The Buttertones. Their sound, defined as “sci-fi alternative romantic”, was embraced by the audience who absolutely loved the dreamy, nostalgic tones coming from the guitar, along with deep, rich vocals coming from lead singer and guitarist, Richard.
Even after a soft serenade, the audience was still ready to get down in the pit. Sex Stains, fronted by Allison Wolfe and Mecca Vazie Andrews, hyped everyone up again with their punk sound and demeanor.
Finally, with their equipment set up and ready to go, the long awaited Cherry Glazerr took stage around 10:30 p.m., which is a good time for any headlining band and their anxious crowd. They opened with their single, “Had Ten Dollaz,” which captures the essence of Cherry Glazerr as a whole-catchy riffs, soft yet intoxicating vocals, an unorthodox writing style, and the groovy basslines of Sean Redman, whom is also the bassist of The Buttertones. As Creevy gives the audience permission to act out by singing “Sweaty Faces, ”which essentially asks the them to go on stage and crowd surf, the ambience of The Glass House and the energy of all 300 attendees lifts even higher than it was before. When the audience did as they were told by jumping on stage and each other, an unmistakable grin of satisfaction spread across Creevy’s face as she shouted “I love you!” countless times into the mic. The love even trickled down to the security guards who escorted those stage divers off with gentle and friendly force instead of manhandling them like rag dolls.
When crowd favorites “Teenage Girl,” “Grilled Cheese,” and “Haxel Princess” began to play, the first note alone got the entire audience roaring. The beautiful harmonies between keyboardist Sasami and Clem mesmerized the audience while their instruments blended together just as well.
The audience seemed most engaged during the song “White’s Not My Color This Evening,” where Cherry Glazerr experiments with a heavier sound and captivating elements constantly going faster to slower, intense, then soft.
Cherry Glazerr played their last song and walked off the stage with mischievous facial expressions, intentionally leaving their instruments behind, making it pretty obvious that, if the crowd demanded an encore, that they’d get one. The audience was only on their fifth chant of “ENCORE” when the band triumphantly picked up their gear and performed one last heartfelt song, which was actually a cover of Nirvana’s “Territorial Pissings.” Not only did the band give it all they got, but so did the boys and girls in the pit. However, the deafening volume coming from the bass, guitar, and drums caused Clem to just give up on singing completely-her voice couldn’t compete with the booming music.
After a few more I love you’s and thank you’s from the band members, Cherry Glazerr was off heading backstage with their instruments in hand, indicating the true end of the show.
