Band Of Annuals Review - Let Me Live

Band of Annuals review
Local Salt Lake City band 'amazing'

Let's be honest, as a music director at a college radio station and a music reviewer for the Signpost, I go to a lot of shows. I sometimes go to two different shows a night. So as you can understand, I sometimes get a little burned out with watching a singer spout out his emotional longings or his/her frustrations about life, sometimes imbedded with a grunt, groan, or an all out scream.

So it is rare when I see a group so full of honesty and beauty in their music and lyrics that I immediately want to see them again, and when I do see a band like this I truly become a fan of them. I go see them again and again and again. With Band of Annuals, a Salt Lake City group that perform country imbued with folk wanderings, I don't have to go far to enjoy the experience again.

Recently I attended their show at Urban Lounge in SLC. The band is something to behold for a first time country music concert attendee; there are six people on stage, lead singer and guitarist Jay Hendersen stands front and center strumming along while using his booming voice to enunciate the words that he is singing. Near his side is Jeremi Hanson, the female voice of the band who sits behind an organ with just the slight notice of her red hair creeping up above the instrument. Behind her is bass player Trever Hadley, who always seems to be in good spirits throughout their set. On the other side of the stage is the most captivating instrument on the stage, a pedal steel guitar, which is played very skillfully by Brent Dreiling, Jamie Timm plays guitar next to him, with his long hair trailing down over his face. Behind all this, Charlie Lewis keeps time on the drums. They are one of the largest bands that I have seen but the sound they make is even bigger.

Live, the band is much like their 2007 record "Let Me Live," a slow-burner in the best sense of the word. They lead out with some of the most heartfelt songs, slower and more meaningful than those to come, but nonetheless inciting dancing in the crowd. The beautiful chorus in "Blood on My Shirt," about alcohol carrying them, fits in perfectly with the atmosphere of the club and the crowd, who are mostly drunk or at least headed that way. The slower numbers move into quicker paced songs "David's Country" and their final and, in my opinion, best song "Don't Let Me Die," which inspires more dancing but loses none of the honesty. Even though the set is so good it is almost like watching a big name touring act, the crowd is still reminded that these people are locals, whether it be in the way vocalist Jay asks someone to take his drink voucher to the bar for him or bassist Trever picking out friends and laughing with them. Band of Annuals are honestly the best band to come out of Utah in recent memory, not only for the music that they have created but for the honesty that they imbue into their live sets.

As the last few lines of "Don't Let Me Die" are yelled out not only by the band, but also the crowd, I was reminded that this will be one of the last shows in Utah before they head out on the road for the entirety of the fall. It saddens me to know that it will be a couple of months before I have the opportunity to see them again, but hopefully somewhere on the road they will show the country that Utah does have some of the best music in the nation.

Originally Published in The WSU Signpost 9/05/08