Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming
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Now back to the story.....
Friday night (9/30) I had the chance to catch the "World Away" tour at the Beach House Bar and Grill in Omaha. My PR buddy Tom George from TAG Publicity put out the call and I was happy to stop by. The two bands on the bill, Falling Through April and Hazen, were unfamiliar to me, but I've never let that stop me before. Tom works with a lot of great bands like Them Dirty Roses and Blacktop Mojo, so he's never steered me wrong before.
Being from the suburbs of West Omaha it's always a treat to visit a venue just minutes from my house. Tucked away off 103rd and Fort, Beach House Bar and Grill (formerly Wired Pub) is a sleepy little spot with seating for about 100. The venue has played host to a lot of mid-level radio rock acts such as Flawed, Gemini Syndrome, No Resolve, and dozens of others along the way. On this particular evening Falling Through April and Hazen were the only acts on the bill so it would be a pretty quick showcase.
Hailing from Gilbert, Arizona Hazen has been building some buzz over the last few years. Having played with some pretty big name acts such as Gemini Syndrome, Powerman 5000, and Adelitas Way the band is spreading their wings on this current run with Falling From April. Their tour kicked off a few weeks ago in Louisiana and continues on through the middle of October ending at the Juke Joint in Mississippi.
Hazen kicked off the night with a strong pop-metal vibe reminiscent of Evanescence and Halestorm. Lead singer Kayla Hazen had some powerful, melodic vocals that sounded even cooler running through a creepy reverb mic. Bass player Robbie Daze had the rockstar vibes doing the crab walk while smashing the strings. Though the crowd was a bit smaller than expected, Robbie and guitarist Dillon gave their best rockstar effort jumping off the stage to spark some energy from the room. I'm sure it's tough to play these smaller shows but Hazen didn't let up and rocked us for 25 minutes like it was the last show they'd ever play. Hazen has a video for their buzz track "Criminal" that you can check out HERE.
The headliner for the evening was Falling Through April. The band is currently based in Charlotte, North Carolina but has come together from different parts of the country. According to the band's bio they started in 2011 and have overcome several hurdles along the way, from exploding transmissions, to ghosting vocalists, even a stray bullet from a nearby party landing a member in the hospital! In 2016 Falling Through April started to find some solid footing when their current vocalist Maekala walked into their lives. This sparked a new wave of energy and now the band is currently making their way across the U.S., riding the success of their track "Paralyzed" which has hit #56 on the Billboard hot singles chart.
Falling Through April had a pop-punk sound that was really fun. Singer Maekala has cited female fronted bands Alanis Morrissette and No Doubt as some of her biggest influences and that could definitely be felt here. Maekala and guitarist Dan Candia had great chemistry and when harmonizing with bass player Dave Piontek everything sounded on point. But let's not forget the stomping beats from drummer Jerome King! Jerome had several family members in the audience supporting so I'm sure it was a special show for him. He had a smile the whole set as his family whooped and hollered for their guy.
It was a fun show and I thank Tom for setting everything up. You can catch both of these bands on tour until October 15. Visit Falling Through April's site HERE for more.
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Falling Through April
Hazen
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