The pairing of bands last night made sense: both highly produced and polished sounds intermixed with strikingly similar vocal styles. It’s no wonder they’re on tour together. Though both experienced moments of unwanted feedback during their sets, this was merely a small smudge on an otherwise musically-robust but calm night. The bands seemed a little weary, but so did the audience as Ari Picker (Lost in the Trees’ vocalist) pointed out.
The Frequency was around half-full with stolid blue stage lights shining when Wisconsin natives All Tiny Creatures took the stage. A thin outfit on a Monday night (two members where there are usually four), their two guys-two guitars approach backed by preset synths, drums, and arpeggiators made the duo sound like a five-piece band. Their set was filled by ethereal and progressive sounds, but when the songs took flight they really packed a punch.
Then came Lost in the Trees — tightly knit folk songwriting met with great guitar and vocal lines as the band churned out new songs from their release, Past Life, as well as classics like “Walk Around the Lake.” It was apparent their songs had been adapted for live performances and truly did come alive. Ari was a note-for-note success, and his band came full force with sharp licks, liveliness, and especially the echo of melodies from one instrument to another. Maybe the energy was just low because it was a Monday (also it was their bassist Mark’s,birthday), but neither band’s sound was sacrificed because of it.