The Media Club is one of my favorite places to see music — the friendly staff and its just-small-enough atmosphere makes me feel comfortable and at home every time I go there. It made for the perfect environment to absorb the trifecta of local bands.
Bed of Stars, fronted by Evan Konrad, played sweet pop-rock served straight-up. If Michael Cera played guitar, this would be the end product: the kind of immediately charming, bed-headed pop that’s impossible not to enjoy. Despite this being their first show, Bed of Stars had their material locked down, and their excitement added layers of energy to a thoroughly joyful performance.
Oh No! Yoko’s jokey Twitter feed had me convinced that the four-piece was a group of egotistical juvenile delinquents, but while this band was definitely young, they played their material with humility and maturity. There’s good reason for all the buzz surrounding these teens, as Oh No! Yoko may have achieved pop perfection. While their lyrical content can vary wildly (one track, “90s Kids,” definitely doesn’t make sense to anyone over 20), the tropical crooning of Everett Morris was still filled with a surprising amount of punch. Slick guitar licks and great stage presence had the entire crowd dancing wildly — not bad for kids just celebrating their prom night.
Victoria natives Germany Germany closed down the evening surrounded by cardboard-stencil lightboxes and a thoroughly electronic setup. The duo capitalized on the energy left by Oh No! Yoko to turn the venue into a dance party; using synthesizer magic and upbeat electronica melodies to keep the crowd on their toes. While a few hiccups due to buggy software disrupted an otherwise smooth set, my biggest problem with Germany Germany was their lack of individuality. I felt like I’d seen the same two-piece electric show a hundred times before. And you can only interact with the audience so much from behind a MacBook. While technically proficient, Germany Germany needed to carve a little more of their personalities into their closing set.