3/31 Free Show at Casa Scene and Heard: Vagrant Beat, Walk the Moon, and Mind Fish

It’s been about three weeks since I have seen the Athens local post-hardcore 5-piece Vagrant Beat and I must say that I am continuously impressed by the quality of their performances and the music itself. After listening to their opening set for recently-gone-viral, Cincinnati native synth-pop group Walk the Moon and Athens’ rock group Mind Fish at Casa Nueva, I consider myself a part of their fan club, The Vagrants (as opposed to Beaters).

Before the show began I took some time to talk with Walk the Moon drummer Sean Waugaman about the band’s recent success. He told me stories about SXSW where the band played with The Airborne Toxic Event amongst others. Walk the Moon recently gained popularity from their music video for “Anna Sun” and as a result have had an article published in Spin magazine and will be on the Last Call with Carson Daly show tonight, April 1.

The energy Walk the Moon played with was infectious as the entire crowd danced to the catchy choruses of songs like “Quesadilla” and “Car”. They played two new never-heard-before songs, one of which was unnamed and the other I quite honestly just can’t remember the name of. After the show, lead singer Nicholas Petricca thanked the audience, especially those who were at their show last year in the Spacement and encouraged everyone to stick around for Mind Fish and hang out with them after the show.

Mind Fish took the stage with the windows already fogged up from the energy of the previous two bands, and did what they do best; which is putting on a very hands-on performance that included lead singer Dean Tartaglia dancing on things and with his adoring fans in the audience. The band definitely got the crowd involved, inviting people up on stage to shake their hips and even got those who didn’t know many Mind Fish’s song singing along to their medley of Foghat’s “Slow Ride” and their own song “Detroit Rock and Roll." The night ended with the repetition of the lyric “Dean’s got a band and it’s the best in the land” and, despite the slight narcissism, Mind Fish gave a performance that kept the crowd on their feet and dancing all night long.

Highlights of my night? Lead singer of Walk the Moon, Nicholas Petricca's, coming up to me and thanking me for rocking out so hard during their set and the scream at the end of Vagrant Beat’s song “Vignette." Gives me the chills every time.

--Matthew Bemer, Staff Writer

Vagrant Beat photo: Ryan Murphy