Usually between sets at a show, people get busy refilling their drinks or catching a cigarette outside. Those who did at this recent show at Cameo Gallery definitely missed out, as the magician Matthew Holzclaw emceed the night and did a little performing of his own in between acts.
He mostly stuck to sleight of hand, but one stunt involved him swallowing one end of a thread and pulling the other out of his…well, I'll leave that up to your imagination. Suffice it to say that some people in the audience may have wished they went outside after all, but at least everyone was thoroughly entertained.
Dinowalrus, a late addition to the show, opened up the night with jangly, methodical guitar rock, setting the stage for Rewards, the new project of Aaron Pfenning of Chairlift. The band is all '80s sex, Pulp-style, with plenty of soft, tender vocals underscored by ripping bass lines.
Suckers was the main draw of the evening, and they met the crowd's anticipation by debuting five or six new songs. While they remained in the tradition of the band's established sound–all brushfire energy and rousing, incantation-like vocals–the newer melodies were a noticeable update on the ones heard in their debut album, last year's Wild Smile. Their audience swayed as if spellbound, which, given the evening's emcee, maybe they were.
