The Thought Lot hosted 10 bands last week, spanning over two shows between Thursday, Feb. 28 and Sunday, March 3. The bands featured were of local, regional, and national recognition.
Both shows were organized by Chambersburg native Sean Hallock, described as “your local neighborhood rock prodigy,” by The Demon Beat.
“We had a better turnout than most Friday or Saturday shows,” Steven Brenize, assistant music director at the Thought Lot said. “It was a Sean show so we knew a lot of people would show up.”
According to Brenize, “Sean shows” are so successful because of Hallock’s knowledge of the industry. At the tender age of 16, Hallock was already touring and regularly selling out 21-and-over clubs with his band, The Shackeltons. The Shackeltons was a featured artist in Rolling Stone and Spin magazine all before Hallock was old enough to vote. Hallock now organizes shows at The Thought Lot at least once a month.
Tuck Son opened Thursday night’s show with mellow, acoustic folk songs. The bands’ sets were complemented by colored lights and B-movie, “Troll 2,” projected on a giant screen as a backdrop.
Thought Lot regular Black Black Beast performed soon after. Black Black Beast’s experimental rock with no vocals served as the perfect transition into members of The Demon Beat’s upbeat side project Bishops. Bishops performed songs from their 2012 full-length album and newest EP “Feel Alive.”
Indiana-native band Sleeping Bag performed next. Sleeping Bag’s set included songs from their newest album “The Women in Your Life,” which was released in November on Joyful Noise Recordings.
The Demon Beat finished the show at 11:30 p.m. The band performed songs from its most recent album “Less is Less,” including “Teenage Wasteland” and “BuzzKillin,” which lead singer Adam Meisterhans described as “a song about feeling sad.”
“It was a really fun show,” Meisterhans said. “We were a little rusty. We hadn’t played since November.”
Brenize describes Thought Lot shows featuring out-of-town bands as “gas stop shows.” The bands are usually going to or from larger cities and perform in small towns like Shippensburg in between.
This was exactly the case for Brooklyn-based Fletcher C. Johnson, a band that performed with The Demon Beat in Martinsburg, W. Va., on March 2, before playing at the Thought Lot on March 3.
Fletcher C. Johnson headlined Sunday’s show at the Thought Lot. Opening for Fletcher C. Johnson were two of Hallock’s bands Rozwell Kid and Goodwolf. Lilac Daze and Carlisle indie-rocker Vincent Yarnell, of The Civil, also performed.
Goodwolf started the show with the mellow rock jams, “Bikini Girl” and “Chain of Hearts,” off of the band’s latest album “Shitty Kids.”
Hallock, who drums for Goodwolf, stayed on stage to play in one of his other bands Rozwell Kid. Rozwell Kid’s upbeat sound was a striking change from Goodwolf’s laid-back sound.
Newly-formed Lilac Daze performed after Rozwell Kid. The band’s soft vocals from female singer Patti Kotrady complemented the band’s hard rock sound perfectly.
Yarnell followed with an acoustic set of covers including MGMT’s “Kids” and Steve Earle’s “I Feel Alright.” In addition to the acoustic guitar, Yarnell also played the harmonica.
Despite being the last band to play on a Sunday night show, the Brooklyn-based, Fletcher C. Johnson performed to a decent size crowd.
All the bands performed in a relaxed atmosphere which included old couches, colored stage lights and Popeye cartoons projected on the screen behind the stage.
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