By TJ
July 16, 2009
There is a reason my feet hit the pavement and meet the musicians and listen to their music live every week, and that is so I know who and what I'm writing about personally. Tonight I headed down to the Eagles Club to tell you about Connor Sands and the Way Out and I'm so glad that I did. I first met Connor and the band when they were opening for The Hollands early this spring. I was blown away by their charm and extremely emotional performance. Connor Sands and the Way Out are Alternative Rock at its best: acoustic rhythm, honest and powerful vocals, soulful organ/piano, and intricate bass and drums. I was immediately hooked by Connor's vocal passion and emotion that make up the foundation of Connor Sands and the Way Out. Now, the Eagles Club is a strictly utilitarian hall that can be rented for gigs. No fancy lights, no bar that I could see and a bingo board for a backdrop. I personally would not call this place a venue, even though shows, mostly of underground artists, are frequent here. What the Eagles Club does have is all ages access, an attribute that is much needed so that the under 21 crowd gets to play and see live music. Remember these are our music scene's future stars and tonight I got an incredible look at what is in the future. At first glance Connor's vocals seem average, but it is with his common sound that you can get connected to what he is feeling and saying.
The Way Out do a great job in the song structure. Jesse's bass and Adam's drums lock in and format the structure which gives Connor the space needed to cut in, fade out, yell or whisper while Karl's organ/piano creates a blanket of soul over the sound. Most songs are formed around Connor's dramatic vocals and rhythm on the Taylor acoustic. The Way Out's lead guitarist Luke on the fender telecaster seemed to hover over Connor's acoustic with a warm tube overdriven tone and a bit of melody to the straight forward rhythm. By about the second song the band was really getting into it and Connor broke the high e string on the Taylor, he confesses that he has been popping strings all week. He decided to play without replacing the E, a good idea since a new E would have been hell to keep in tune without breaking in time. Connor Sands and the Way Out continued, the way this band sets up the structure of these songs is so climatic and variable. There were times when you can't hear yourself think and times you could hear a pin drop in a bed full of cotton. It's all a part of the emotional roller coaster that plays out. Connor sings about, time, distance, love and the forever change. The band played for roughly an hour and Connor gave the two song warning. They played "Make Up Your Mind" and flowed it directly into "Fireworks" a very cool ending that kind of seemed like one epic song. This was the bands CD Release Party for their first album "Fireworks at Dawn" so I picked up a CD to help the Connor's string breakage fund. I have been listening to it nonstop for the past few days. This is probably one of the best first albums of any locally known artist I have heard. The whole album from my perception revolves around dealing with a universal separation from high school to college and relationships that become severed or distant in the transitions. It sounds great and certainly can put you in a mood. Please check out the photo gallery and listen to a couple of songs from this great Green Bay band. "Fireworks at Dawn" can be purchased at live shows and soon to be at Exclusive Company in Green Bay and Online at CDBaby.com You can keep up with Connor Sands and the Way out on their. For more photos and music click here!
