Dates of shows: July 25, 2012 and August 1, 2012
Shot of choice: tequila
You may already be familiar Taylor Knox. He’s shared the stage with many notable acts, including The Golden Dogs and Rich Aucoin, most often behind the kit. But Knox is also a multi-instrumentalist and had been showcasing his own material for the last couple months, with residencies at The Dakota Tavern and The Piston. During his residencies, Knox had invited his friends to appear as special guests, including Jane’s Party, Jason Collett, and Zeus, while Aaron Harvey, Spencer Cole and Jay McCarrol have been seeing work regularly as part of the Taylor Knox Band.
We caught two nights of Knox’s residency at The Piston. On the first night, Knox divided his set to play his Loomings EP, which is based on the first chapter of Moby Dick, in its entirety with Carlin Nicholson (drums), Mike O’Brien (guitar) and Neil Quin (bass) of Zeus as his backing band. The talent on stage was undeniable and I hear the fellas of Zeus only learned the songs that day. After his Loomings set, the Taylor Knox Band, minus McCarrol, took the stage to play a full set.
I was actually blown away by Knox’s set on this night, which is what had me return for a second night. Knox has an unassuming stage presence, despite his towering height, which combines so well with his compelling melodic vocals. While Knox’s Moby Dick songs are intriguing, his newer power pop songs had me most intrigued. “Nothing Is Impossible” has been stuck in my head for a while now.
On the second night, which happened to be their last show of the summer, McCarrol was back on stage after missing only a week due to surgery. The sound was a little fuller and this time some friends in attendance danced a little to a couple of the upbeat songs, which was great to see.
On both nights, I was surprised to see a sparse crowd. Knox had a good amount of friends in attendance, but I walked away on both nights thinking that more people should know about Taylor Knox. You can stream Loomings as well as The Spark 7” on Knox’s website. We recommend you purchase a digital copy (via Bandcamp) and check out the band as soon as you get the chance.
Alvvays opened up the night on July 25, 2012. While you might not be familiar with Alvvays, you may be familiar with Molly Rankin, who fronts this band that has assumed the new moniker. Rankin’s adorable stage presence is undeniable and Rankin brought along some friends and fans that gathered near the stage for the set. As the band, which includes Alec O’Hanley (formerly of Two Hours Traffic) continues to grow together, I look forward to seeing more.
William Delray kicked off the night of August 1, 2012. William Matthew Miller records and performs very short, lo-fi tunes as William Delray. As he was playing solo, Miller invited friends to join him on stage to play drums for a couple tunes. There wasn’t much of a structure to the set, as Miller seemed to be picking some songs on the fly after a while and he poked a lot of fun at himself, making for both an awkward and hilarious set.
buying shots for bands 
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