Concert Review: brothers gow

Juan Barragan

brothers gow

V Elements Festival

28 September 2014

 

In a first event of its kind in San Diego, a massive festival took over the Broadway Pier in Downtown San Diego this past weekend. This one of a kind festival was called the V Elements Festival; not the letter, but the number, five. The fifth element of the evening would undoubtedly be music, and there was not another artist more capable on delivering on this element than brothers gow. An interesting feature of this festival was the inclusion of yoga. People were encouraged to bring their yoga mats and do yoga while listening to music, and that’s exactly what they did.

By now, this band has matured into a tight-knit ensemble that has shifted its focus from a diverse set of genres into a more jam-band style of music. They opened with an unreleased song that will not be seen on the new album due out later this year. Although the crowd loved the song, the band claimed that they were just getting warmed up and considered that a sound-check. They were right; the rest of the show was epic, and the multitudes of people in attendance agreed.

The first song that was easily identifiable was the band’s signature song, “Wake N Bake.” For veteran Gow fans, dancing along to this tune took meticulous precision and skill. During the pre-chorus, there is a section where the band, in unison, is swayed left to right and right to left by the music. It’s at this moment that the true fans can express how much they know the Gow by dancing along. Newcomers can easily be spotted because they don’t know the choreographed dance, and they typically sway in the wrong direction.

After this song, the highlight of the show occurred. A definite first for fans in San Diego, brothers gow unleashed a new cover song that has never been played before in this part of town. The song was “Renegade,” by Styx. Kyle Merrill, the lead vocalist of the band, was spot on for the entirety of the song, and people were amazed by the band’s ability to pull off such a tough song, to the extent that they started clapping along for the duration of the song. Based on the positive reviews and the cheers of the crowd that could be heard al the way to Ocean Beach, where the band resides, it is for certain that they will continue to play this classic tune for other shows.

After this song, they played another cover, this time by the Grateful Dead, “Shakedown Street.” It is currently unknown where the band is getting influenced to play these songs that are older than them. However, clues suggest that these song selections might be due to an influential person named Tim “The Godfather”, who can be seen at every show dancing along to the music. It is rumored that Tim is like mentor to the band, offering advice whenever it’s needed.

The band ended their set with the title track of the new album that will come out before the end of the year, Reflections. This song’s complex nature of different tempos and rhythms makes brothers gow stand out compared to the rest of the other local bands that are trying to make it. It’s songs like these that brothers gow should focus on making more of, as they are popular, catchy, and have the potential to revolutionize the world when heard by the right ears.

The band will be embarking on a short tour in the coming month, and will be releasing their 4^th studio album when they return. You will definitely want to stay on the lookout for this album, because some songs on there have the potential to make it onto terrestrial radio.