JP Walsh, Lane sophomore and keyboardist for Give Back, loses himself in the moment.
By Julia Kulon
When I walked out of the Beat Kitchen after seeing the band Give Back, (a lineup also joined by Crash Hero and The Blisters) into a snowy January night, I felt all too enchanted and deliriously happy.
Being someone that prefers to curl up with a book and a mug of hot tea on her free Friday nights, I attributed the feeling to the simple revelation that I had finally crossed something off my high-school bucket list: see a local band play in a small crowded space under fluorescent red lighting.
The following Tuesday, I bought Give Back’s CD off i-Tunes and left their music playing in the background as I did things around the house. The giddiness I experienced that snowy January night crept back into me.
I concluded that perhaps this feeling wasn’t the result of crossing something off my imaginary bucket list; it was much simpler than that. Give Back creates a mood that I loved, that made me happy, and that made my toes want to dance.
The word ‘golden’ came to mind. Give Back is simply golden.
Taking photographs at the concert on that January night, I captured several images of the energy erupting on the stage. Big grins illustrated the band members’ total and pure investment in their music. And a true camaraderie among the four suit-clad boys was obvious. Introducing themselves and thanking all for coming out, their abundant happiness infected the crowd immediately.
This might be the only time that a plague – a crowd of swarming of teens – could be described as beautiful. But that’s what it was. Beautiful.
Songs off Give Back’s anticipated debut album, Modern Philosophy were played throughout the night. Their more well-known songs, Three Days and Hello I Am were sandwiched in between the songs that only a true fan would know such as Be There Too and Invisible Homicide. The set list was a carefully planned showcasing of their range. The boys stomped and jumped around the stage, constantly re-energizing themselves.
Vocalist Ryan Walsh at one point took off his dress shirt, only to expose a black t-shirt, giving the crowd a gripping tease.
The attention of the room held to the very end, and the band made sure to make a shout-out to their producer; a sign of sleek classiness and professionalism which made Give Back even more compelling to me towards the end of the night.
At the end of their set, drummer Laneite Owen Jones jumped into the crowd and gave his lucky girl a swooping kiss. The gesture solidifed the band’s young age and excitement.
Give Back is a band from our generation certainly, but it also remembers to pass on respect to musical traditions. There’s a bit of The Strokes and The Fray in them. Some of their chords are reminiscent of old CDs that some of us with ex-hippie parents used to dance to.
Give Back’s positive sounding chords don’t compromise or bend to any cynicism. The band-members of Give Back are young and upbeat, and they want to share that feeling with the world. What triples the effect is their astoundingly mature self-confidence on stage and on record, which is both rare, and self-assuring.
Having followed their Facebook page since last June, I have already seen Give Back grow. The band members have evolved and matured as musicians – something sure to continue as they play together more and more.
Their album Modern Philosophy, released Jan. 21 on i-Tunes (only $9.90), is pure enthusiasm and appears to be only the first spectacular stop in their adventures.
