Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming
Omaha Alt-rockers Altura released their new E.P. Soul Ritual last weekend (6.8.24) at Infusion Brewery. When I got an invite for the show I assumed Infusion Brewing Company was going to be a bar with a small stage either inside or on a patio. I was wrong in the best way possible.
I went inside the building to find a small bar with a retail shop but there was a guy taking tickets at a door in the back. I stepped through to a warehouse space and saw a large stage set up with lights and a huge LED screen. Behind the stage were thousands of cans on pallets and to the left of the stage were the actual brewing vats. We were literally inside the heart of the brewery! It was such a neat setup.
Being this was a local show and the flyer said 6-10 PM I figured there would be a couple bands playing, but nope, it was just Altura. The band took the stage around 7:45 and proceeded to melt our faces! There had to have been close to 200 people between those in the brewery and folks hanging in the bar/retail shop. I ran into my buddy Blake Jones from Desiato and Hybrid Theory (R.I.P), and he said he snagged the last two tickets available at the door. What an awesome show of support from the Omaha music scene!
This was my first time seeing Altura but it certainly won't be the last. They had a cool vibe of alt-rock, reggae, and hip-hop, almost like 311 meets the Killers. Vocal duties were shared between lead singer Sean and Christian "Friday" Freed, but bass player Aaron helped harmonize as well. Friday kept things fresh switching it up from melodies to more of a rap flow. His style is reminiscent of Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park. Which makes sense, because wouldn't you know it, Friday rapped and sang all the Mike Shinoda parts in Hybrid Theory!
Drummer Mario beat the skins like a madman even throwing in a nice solo towards the end of the set. Guitarist Adam kept the rhythm going but also had some wicked shredding. I really liked the more reggae-tinged songs where he let the melodies soar. Altura's sound has such a wide range, from bluesy to hard and pop-rock, to almost pop punk, but it's uniquely theirs. Through all the different vibes they kept the energy up the whole set. With the building already a bit hot the band was working up a sweat. Singer Sean said it was worse than when he plays ice hockey!
Altura played a good 45 minutes covering songs from their whole catalog including several from their new E.P., Soul Ritual. Like true rockstars, they took a really quick break after the last song only to come back and do a killer cover of "Message In A Bottle" by The Police. This show felt really special. I hope in a few years Altura will have a big following and I can say "I was there at the show inside the Brewery". If you were there, check out these pics and reminisce. If you weren't there, give Altura a follow so you can check out the next show. I promise it will be an amazing time!
Thanks so much to Altura for having me out. I'll catch you at the next one!
Altura
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