Making its debut at Listening Room for Local Spins’ Michigan Mondays series, the ever clever Kalamazoo psych-pop/rock band fired up new tunes and old classics for an attentive, enthused crowd.
Michigan-Made Magic: The Go Rounds brought their distinctive sound to Listening Room on Monday. (Photo/Anna Sink)
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There’s something ever entrancing about The Go Rounds.
Their live performance antics draw a kind of intimate attention. Monday night at Grand Rapids’ Listening Room for the Local Spins Michigan Mondays series was no exception.
The Kalamazoo quartet performed a beautifully dynamic set for an enthused house in the intimate venue, spanning a career of more than 10 years.
With a distinctive, psychedelic and almost-ethereal sonic approach unlike any other rock band, The Go Rounds — who earlier this month won best alternative album of the year at WYCE’s Jammie Awards for 2019’s “Whatever You May Be” — unfurled “Under the Light” early in the set, a magical groove that swelled along with frontman Graham Parsons ghostly voice.
The set seemed to flow almost seamlessly from one song to the other. The band, which is finishing up work on a new album in Detroit, also performed a couple of brand new tunes for fans during the show. Watch a video of one of those songs here.
VIDEO: The Go Rounds @ Listening Room
On Monday night, instrumental highlights came at various moments from each member. The technical chops from drummer Adam Danis waited around every corner and included the employment of an electric drum machine. Bassist Drew Tyner locked in on every beat and blended effortlessly with the textures of the rest of the band, with guitarist Mike Savina creating endless soundscapes, riffs and leads — exuding a lighthearted presence.
Perhaps the most gravitational on-stage performance, however, came courtesy of Parsons. Swapping between various guitars and keyboards, the singer and multi-instrumentalist brought slow-burning energy and confidence to the stage that drifted out into the crowd.
Longtime Comrades: The Go Rounds on stage Monday. (Photo/Anna Sink)
Other highlights included “Pattern and Vanity,” an energetic number with wild drums featuring Savina on additional percussion, and “Bottle O Wine,” from 2015’s album “Don’t Go Not Changin,” a rambling track that drifts into outer space with expansive soundscapes and Parsons’ voice shrouded in lush vocal effects.
While discussing the band’s past during a mid-show interview, Parsons summed up the group’s recent efforts in a few intentional words:
“There’s something really magical when you see a band that’s been together for a really long time. There are all these things that are happening that we’re not communicating about. It seems like magic a little bit, and it is …dark magic, light magic,” he mused.
“The longer we’ve been together I think the more we feel that and the more we intuit each other’s states and creative directions. What a beautiful thing.”
The exclamation point on Monday night’s “beautiful thing”?
An unexpected-but-lively encore that included a punchy, smile-inducing and spirited rendition of a Talking Heads classic.
The next Local Spins Michigan Mondays show: Detroit-area Americana/indie-folk band Escaping Pavement plays Listening Room on March 16. Get tickets and details at listeningroomgr.com.
PHOTO GALLERY: The Go Rounds at Listening Room
Photos by Anna Sink
