Holiday Shores - Cameo Gallery 08.29.09

via twosyllable records

This may come as a shock to you, but I really dislike summers. The sun, heat, humidity, high SPF sunscreen that I must reapply every 10 minutes to avoid sunburn - What is there to like? Even though I hate the season, I cannot get enough of music that captures the scent of the salt-licked water, the gentle warm breeze, and the lusciously soft sand. I am in love with the idea of summer, and Tallahassee-based Holiday Shores indulge me every single time.

While I was introduced to Holiday Shores by Chocolate Bobka months ago, I didn't give the band a serious listen until this past month, probably due to a certain obsession with the music of this man. Ever since I got a copy of Holiday Shores' Columbus'd The Whim weeks ago, it's been my album of choice to play while working or cooking. The irresistible sounds (that remind me of The Sea and Cake in a brief moment that I can't seem to locate right now) put me at ease, whether I'm de-shell/veining shrimp for this dish, or working on a project in the soul-killing PowerPoint. It's no surprise that Holiday Shores is signed onto the awesome twosyllable records, also home to Bell and past Made a Blog obsession NewVillager.

The lack of live music in my life was getting me down (yes, I actually get sad), so I figured that a trip to Chocolate Bobka presents at Cameo Gallery would be good for my heart. I suspected that Holiday Shores would be a great live show, and they didn't disappoint. They sounded great at Cameo, and I don't remember the last time I had that much fun at a show. Their songs are infectious to begin with, and Holiday Shores give their live show a huge kick by really giving it their all onstage. The band was killing it, and I'm glad that I was able to make it to the last show on their mini-tour. Requests of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" were yelled out, and Holiday Shores went right into their rendition. M. insists that all good bands cover Fleetwood Mac, and that's definitely true in this case. When Holiday Shores closed with "Edge of Our Lives," I wasn't ready to leave or stop dancing around. I hope I don't have to wait until next summer to see Holiday Shores again.

Does anyone have pictures from the show? Cameo Gallery has such low lighting that I didn't even attempt with my point-and-shoot.

Standing Room recorded the set, and I should be putting up a song on the blog sometime soon. Listen to the cover of "Dreams" into "Errand of Tongue" now on Standing Around. If you missed Holiday Shores on their recent mini-tour, be sure to watch out for their live studio session, recorded last Friday, on BreakThru Radio. Check this Twitter (which I manage) or bookmark the BTR Blog.

Edge of Our Lives - Holiday Shores

Phones Don't Feud - Holiday Shores

Buy Columbus'd The Whim here or here.