Needless to say, trying to do even the most minute band research when the band’s name is Snowden is, considering the Snowden in all the political articles in my news feed these days, interesting. And considering Snowden (the band) takes their name from the character named Snowden (a character who inspires change! A character with a not-so-subtle secret!) in the Joseph Heller novel Catch-22, I (as a previous English major) just about had an existential mind explosion.
“Man was matter, that was Snowden’s secret. Drop him out a window and he’ll fall. Set fire to him and he’ll burn. Bury him and he’ll rot… The spirit gone, man is garbage.”
At Great Scott last night (6/26), Snowden (the band) brought the spirit that Snowden (the character) inspired.
(And enough about the NSA guy. Seriously, if I continue to consider all that, my mind will continue to explode.)
Local support for Snowden was indie-rockers Marconi, moustachioed boys in button-up shirts, the bass player in a black t-shirt with “COMEDY” in white lettering across the front. Their foot stomps were the traits of a band genuinely digging their own music, music that was soft around the edges with great bursts of loud intentions (my accompanying concert companion scowled at these rises and falls, claiming the songs “cockblocked themselves,” but hey! I liked it!). They were like a smooth-around-the-edges Franz Ferdinand, reminiscent of Maximo Park, a throwback to Bram Tchaikovsky. They’re definitely worth checking out.
I hadn’t heard of Atlanta-born, Austin-based Snowden prior to the show, but lots of other people have. When lead singer Jordan Jeffares entered Great Scott, he was immediately met with handshakes and hellos from people in the crowd including a very smiley, enthusiastic female at the bar – and the band’s 2013 album No One In Control was released on Kings of Leon’s Serpents and Snakes Records after Snowden previously toured with them in 2007. Joining Jeffares on stage were Yoi Fujita on bass and keyboard and Mikey Jones on drums. Fujita is a powerhouse, pounding both bass and keys with ferocity, his long, sweat-drenched hair flying with each beat. Jones delivers, too, with dance beats punctuated with a tamborine literally crashing the hi-hat. The bearded Jeffares is swoon worthy in his Pray for ATL t-shirt, manipulating the empty space of Snowden’s songs into something dynamic, crooning to the half-moon crowd as he grinded on his guitar to the beat. Live, this music is sexy. It takes your breath away and “The Beat Comes” – my favorite off No One In Control – made my standard show-going head nodding turn to full-out dancing.
Joseph Heller recognized the potential of man’s spirit and Snowden (the character) was the stimulant for this idea to take power. Snowden (the band) perpetuates that purpose, too, bringing to the stage a spirit and music that is ravenous and full.
