PC|Bluestocking

My previous article was a touting of the band Jessie’s Girls before the concert on Saturday night, but after the concert I can’t help but spew praise about the performance that Shapiro put on. I have never been a huge fan of the style of music that bands such as Shapiro play but after the first song I was immediately hooked. From the vocal styling of the lead singer to the immense amount of incredibly difficult key and tempo changes, this band is the ideal image of a progressive style of rock band. Every single member of the band was highly skilled at their instrument and came to the presbyterian college bookstore with professional sound system and ready to show the audience a good time.
I had a conversation with the lead singer, Jeremy Shapiro before the show started and found that he was drinking a product called “throat coke” which is a type of hot drink that soothes and prepares the vocal cords before a performance. To say it worked might be a vast understatement. Every single note was spot on. I was blown away by his incredible range and command over his portion of the musical entirity that made their music. Beyond the part of the lead vocals, every element of the musical entity that was Shapiro was incredible from the synthesized keyboards to the thumping bass line. The guitars were never overwhelming or the star of the show but rather a perfect compliment the music, often breaking off into complex harmonies and simple but incredible melodies. They transitioned between key signatures and tempos like they were born to do it. The drummer not only kept the beat but drew the entire band together to form a completely unified sound. His multiple fills and bang on transitions really added the final element to the sound that is Shapiro. This band is not only a group of highly competent musicians but a family of musical performers that created the amazing music that I was priveleged to hear Saturday night.
Finally, the music was not only incredible but the performance of the music itself was breathtaking. Between the guitarists and the bassist, someone was constantly headbanging, sending their long hair flying through the air in beat to the constant rhtyhm of their guitars. On a funnier note, before the show started, the band put Rupaul’s Drag race on the projector screen so that drag queens were prancing about behind them while they played. Most of the audience thought that it was initially a mistake but later found out that it was just another part of the antical show that Shapiro was putting on. The music that Shapiro played was strongly felt through the lead singer and songwriter Jeremy, which was evident in his performance of every single one of the songs. Shapiro was one of the best original bands that has yet to make it big that I have seen in a long time. If they don’t land some sort of professional record deal in the near future, it is in this writer’s very humble opinion that they have been short changed. If the opportunity ever arises to see Shapiro again in the near future, I would highly recommend taking the chance to see this incredible band.

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