The Sowashes are back!

The laudable lineup of The Kyle Sowashes, Scubadog and Blithe Field took to the stage late Saturday evening at Athens' Casa Cantina. I arrived rather early, having missed out on two Casa shows in the past due to the venue already being "at capacity" before each show's allotted start time. I had no intentions of making that mistake a third time, and I was pleased to find that the place wasn't even half-full when I arrived.

Blithe Field started off the evening. As the only act I had not seen prior to that evening as well as the first act of its kind I had witnessed live, I could not hide my intrigue as Blithe Field's single member began his set. As the venue slowly filled up, we bobbed along to the sampled, electronic beats that filled the room. One song in particular was passingly referred to as a "club jam," and if our honeys were in the vicinity, we should find 'em. Paraphrasing, of course. I did not have a honey, so I felt a bit lonely. Then, no one else really seemed to have anyone either, so I couldn't really be too upset.

The men of Scubadog came next, and as they proved once again, there is never a dull moment at a Scubadog show. They sounded even better than I remembered them -- and it hadn't even been a month since my first encounter with the band (when they played with Flotation Walls and She Bears earlier this month at the Union). The energy was high and as far as comparing Scubadog to the other two acts that evening, they actually probably got the most substantial crowd response.

Oh, and did I mention the show was sponsored by Twilight? Well, it was. Scubadog's Teddy Humpert told me so.

Columbus' Kyle Sowashes capped off the evening.

I saw these guys at Lobsterfest last year, and to be honest, they were probably my favorite act. Their banter can be hilarious, and their songs are just as praiseworthy. You get a real "normal guys" vibe with this band, and it seems as if everyone can relate to at least one of their songs. The best part was that if you hadn't seen the Kyle Sowashes before, it really wasn't a big deal; they played a fair amount of new songs mixed in with some of their much older material. One comment from lead singer Kyle Sowash: "We wrote this song when you guys were probably freshmen in high school." Gee, Kyle, now I feel old, too.

The Sowashes' set ended a little before one in the morning, capping off two-plus hours of some toe-tapping, arms-flailing goodness from three of Ohio's finest. All in all, a good night for live music in Athens, Ohio. You should've been there.

-Kevin Rutherford, Senior Critic
Photograph courtesy of The Kyle Sowashes' Myspace