I’d been eagerly awaiting the Flannel Mouth show on November 15th ever since they announced it at the end of September. I’ve known the Flannel Mouth guys since high school. In fact, they were my very first concert I ever photographed! They’ve always been fun to watch, they’re so animated and have such a unique sound. It’s crazy to me how good they’ve gotten over the years. It’s been a pleasure to watch and hear their progression.
The show was Saturday night at The High Note, which is located just inside Pekin, Illinois. For only $5, we enjoyed Second Season, Flannel Mouth, Event Horizon, and Shadows Inc. Second Season is based out of Indiana, Flannel Mouth and Shadows Incorporated are both from Central Illinois, and Event Horizon hails from New York. I was most looking forward to Flannel Mouth (with an obvious bias), but I’ve seen all the other bands besides Second Season before, too, so I knew we were in for a good show. With new material from Flannel Mouth in the works, I was super excited for a small preview.
The venue is located on the second story, so you go up a narrow stair case where you’re greeted by the bar on your right and stage on the opposite side of the room. The High Note is a small, intimate venue with a dive bar feel which is good for seeing the bands right up close, that’s for sure. The one huge complaint I have with this venue is that it was FREEZING. I don’t think they had the heat turned on and the bands, having to load in the back door, were letting the 20 something degree weather inside.
Anyways, on to the good stuff — After Second Season opened up the show, the crowd gathered up around the stage as soon as Flannel Mouth’s set started. I was a bit concerned with the crowd, because there was only two guys that stood up front for the first band. This was not the case with Flannel Mouth! They opened up with some brand new songs and that got people really excited. Luke, the singer, is super fun to watch while he performs. His facial expressions and all around stage presence compliments Flannel Mouth’s sound perfectly. Even if you’re not the biggest fan of their sound, you’ll enjoy watching their set.
Their set list was:
- The Showdown in the Courtroom (new)
- The Preacher’s Daughter (new)
- The Sinner
- Oh, Bastard
- The World Awaits with Eyes Half-Open
- RAR (new)
They went through some of their already-released songs like “Oh, Bastard.” I personally love that song. It’s definitely a toe tapper. Out of the new stuff they played that night, I enjoyed “The Preacher’s Daughter” the most. The three new songs definitely have a bolder sound to it. I think their soon-to-be latest release will be their best one yet. Hopefully that will be out sometime in the upcoming year.
Overall, it was a fantastic local show. The comradery between the bands was apparent and made it that much more fun to watch their sets. I’m still crossing my fingers for a time when I get to experience Flannel Mouth at a bigger venue with better sound, because it’s long overdue.
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