Water Liars, Twin Brother, Christopher Porterfield- The Cactus Club, August 6, 2015

photo by Will Piper

The Cactus Club welcomed a triple bill of indie folk/rock goodness with Christopher Porterfield, Twin Brother and Water Liars, providing what would be the best $8 I've spent all summer.  These acts, while not household names for most, provided one of the best evenings of music I can remember- with each act delivering a passionate set and showcasing their unique songwriting skills.

The evening kicked off with Porterfield, performing a set of Field Report songs along with Barry Clark on upright bass.  Solo, Porterfield's songs are performed with equal, if not more intensity, than when he's backed by the full Field Report band.  Armed with an arsenal of effects pedals, Porterfield and Clark were able to expand some of the beautiful sonic nuances found on Field Report's brilliant 2014 release, Marigolden.  In the same vane as master songwriters, Jason Isbell and Jeff Tweedy, Porterfield crafts his narratives and characters in a way that the songs resonate in different ways when heard again and again.  The set highlight was a stripped down version of "Fergus Falls" with Clark delivering some exceptional licks on the upright bass.

photo by Will Piper

Up next was Twin Brother, the eclectic five piece rock outfit fronted by Sean Raasch. Twin Brother's current incarnation features Raasch on guitar and vocals, along with a drummer, bass player, keyboardist and trumpet player. The addition of the keys and trumpet provided a rich sonic fullness to Twin Brother's music. Raasch's brooding tales and moody soundscapes came across dynamically. Much of the material of the night came from last year's excellent Swallow the Anchor release.   This is a band that continues to improve and refine its craft, and gets better every time I see them.  Musically, their darker sound provided a perfect support act for the evening's headliner,

Headlining the bill was Water Liars, a trio from Water Valley, Mississippi.  Water Liars are perhaps best described as, "the best band that you've never heard of."  They are an act that your music-inclined friends hip you to (thank you Aaron Schliecher and Stephen Bloch), and then you end up loving and sharing with others.  The crowd had thinned considerably when Water Liars took the stage slightly before midnight, but the folks who stuck around were in for a real treat.

Water Liars' music is a modern personification of the Southern Gothic style, equal parts reflective, dark, passionate and brooding-- all in way that works seamlessly.  The band delivered big time, with a roaring set of tunes highlighting many tracks off the group's stellar 2014 self-titled Water Liars release.  Water Liars are a truly unique band who can deliver ruckus guitar licks one minute and then slow things down into soaring sweet vocal harmonies the next, all within the same song.  Water Liars are true troubadours of the road, who are constantly touring, and frequent Wisconsin especially for a band hailing from close to 1,000 miles away.  Closing their set, Water Liars played two brand new tunes which were exceptional and showcased the continual evolution of this outstanding act.

photo by Will Piper

photo by Will Piper