Coasts @ Brighton Music Hall

by Ashley Juliano
2016-05-25

Coasts @ Brighton Music Hall

Last month we headed over to Brighton Music Hall for some great tunes and to catch up with Boots Copeland, front man of Knox Hamilton, as they accompany Symmetry opening up for UK alt/pop band Coasts!

Imagine back in high school, sneaking out of your house at night to walk around your neighborhood with your friends, drinking your mom’s non-alcoholic margarita mix. Those are the semi rebellious memories you will have while listening to Symmetry. With a sound reminiscent of Cute is What We Aim For and We The Kings, Symmetry provides a real throwback to days spent in Hot Topic skinny jeans and bleached hair. Being the first of two openers, and new to the touring scene, they brought real energy to the stage, trying their best to interact with a sparse crowd. The band is made up of Mike Campbell on vocals and moralcontrol, Jared Hara working guitar, Max D’Anda on drums, and Will Weiner kicking bass. They performed well together, playing off each other like a band you would see at an after hours battle of the bands. Symmetry is a good example of what alternative pop rock can sound like today, and would surely be on everyone's Myspace page if it was still around. Walking on stage looking like a beefier Mumford and Sons, you would not expect a sound like a mashup of The Kooks and Two Door Cinema Club, but Knox Hamilton plays it well. This small band from Little Rock just released their first EP How’s Your Mind, and began their show with Set It on Fire, the perfect song to grab the crowd’s attention. The band has great onstage chemistry which is no surprise since the band consists of brothers Boots Copeland and Cobo.

Copeland, as well as Drew Buffington and Taylor Flynn. Together creating a sound consisting oflaid back guitar, strong bass lines, and catchy drum beats. With powerful lead vocals that pullyou in, it’s hard not to sing along. Being a new band they surprised the crowd with a diverse setlist including Back Porch, Call Me Up, the major hit Rightfully So, and they concluded with Saturday Show the perfect song to wrap up their performance. Knox Hamilton is the perfect band to have playing in the summer as you and your friends are on a road trip to the beach. We are looking forward to seeing what else Knox Hamilton will bring to the stage in the next year. Is it even a Coasts concert if they don’t open with Wallow? By far the best song to open with spanning all their EPs and their most recent self-titled debut album because of it’s slow intro that leads into the perfect piercing beat to kickstart good vibes for the rest of the night. This five-piece from Bristol, England, which is ironically not located on a coast, consists of Chris Caines with lead vocals, Liam Willford on guitar, David Goulbourn on the keys, James Gamage on bass, and Ben Street on the drums light rooms up with their catchy beats and are a really great example of friends that work well together on and off stage. The set followed with Coasts classics like Your Soul, fan-favorite Modern Love, and new tracks As Long as I Need You and You from the album. The live performance summed up in a word is, simply, fun. From the wave-like songs themselves to the frequent bouncing and dancing of the band, there was no way anybody in the crowd wasn’t enjoying themselves. The tropical guitars and vocals kept the crowd going through the ticking beats of Let Go, Lions, and Tonight. An explosive performance of their most well-known track, Oceans, finished the set with the crowd roaring strong and energized from their fun night out at Brighton Music Hall. It’s ALWAYS a pleasure seeing Coasts, and we can’t wait to see where these guys are headed in 2016.