Secret Colours @ Mississippi Studios 06/13/2012
Currently on tour with Sarah Jaffe, the Chicago five-piece made their first appearance in Portland at Mississippi Studios this past Wednesday night. After setting up their equipment and a quick soundcheck, the band eased into an opening instrumental to lure the crowd in. Tommy Evans (vocals/guitar) had a few kind words to say about our fair city, “It’s so good to be in Portland. It’s our first time here and it’s home to one of our favorite bands, The Dandy Warhols.”
A couple songs in, there was slight technical difficulty with Evans’ keyboard signal, but after a quick fix from the good folks at Mississippi they were up and running in no time. The eight-song set included late ‘60s-inspired jamming, vocals reminiscent of Jason Pierce (Spiritualized, Spacemen 3), as well as tracks off their spring release (EP3) and upcoming full-length (Peach). Secret Colours held the half-full room’s attention with an explosive sound filled to the brim with copious amounts of wah and fuzz. The only thing missing were projected swirling psychedelic colors and shapes.
Grateful to just be on tour, Evans mentioned the Secret Colours’ merch table offerings, but half-jokingly added they would be happy to get a few bucks to make it back home. Hopefully for them, there were some like-minded and newly created fans like me who dug their killer spacey psych-pop rock. If you didn’t get a chance to make it to the show, be sure not to pass them up next time around.
Words and Shameless iPhone Photos by Wendy Worzalla