Live review: Little Big League, Area 15 (5/30/2014)

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LIttle Big League, It Looks Sad, Serfs Alright
Area 15
May 30, 2014

After the noisy thrash of Alright and Serfs, the indie-rock band It Looks Sad, with its guitar-pop sensibilities, was a sharp musical change of pace to the evening. Recently signing with Charlotte-based record label Tiny Engines, It Looks Sad has been covered by Pitchfork who excitedly mentioned an upcoming EP release later this summer.

"Seasons" and "Radical" were highlights of the band's set that sounded like rays of sunshine on a cloudy evening and revealing why the band's profile has been on the rise.

Overall, the evening felt a lot like a homecoming. Area 15, located between Uptown and NoDa, is home to a number of small operations and also functions as a DIY concert venue. Headlining the night, Little Big League fronted by Michelle Zauner stepped up in front of the crowd ready to perform. Proceeding after a few local bands, Zauner and crew performed with a stoic professionalism of a band who was in the final days of its May tour.

The opening act, Alright, was a three-piece band which slashed through with a brief, noisy set that lasted no longer than 20 minutes and featured no song played with even a second of excess.

Up next was Serfs, a noise-punk band led by singer Phil Pucci, who appeared ready for the band's return to public performance. Pucci moved recklessly across the floor exciting the crowd, never getting too lost in his number of guitar pedals that he forcibly trigger with his white Chucks.

Zauner mentioned about halfway through their closing set that a couple years ago they played with It Looks Sad and now, to the band's excitement, they are label mates on Tiny Engine.

A sense of community was evident throughout the night with different members of the bands joking around with each other and each band was ready to give positive vibes for the rest of the acts once given the mic. The days of summer are still to come, but this evening was a nice start to a season of sweaty afternoons, late sunsets and melting closer with the most important people in one's life.