Devil In The Woods Showcase, featuring The iMPS, Fiver, American Holiday & Royal Brown

Devil In The Woods, a San Francisco-based independent label, graced Chico with the presence of two of its California bands during Nowhere X Nowhere, bringing a pair of Modesto acts to Duffy's. Opening the four-band show was Chico band (and not DIW band) Royal Brown. The group was kind of a collage of members from some other North State bands, with Brad from Cowboy, Becky from Red Bluff's Pan Pan and Kelly from Aranca Sync.

There is no doubt that all of these bands are tight and together in their own right, but the amalgam of the three bands and their individual members didn't mesh as well as they could have. Their songs were all over the place, jumping a little too quickly from a song that sounded as if it could be a Civil War marching song, to a seemingly Irish song.

Their intentions were good, and each was a skilled musician, with Brad on guitar, Becky on vocals and guitar and Kelly on drums, it just sounded like they hadn't spent enough time in the rehearsal space.

Next up was Devil In The Woods band American Holiday, who were sporting some serious testosterone-driven music. The four-man band made sure the audience, which grew bigger by the song, could clearly hear the lyrics carried out by Jason Montilla's powerful, deep and emotive voice.

Sometimes the vocals dominate a band's set unnecessarily, but there are times they should, and AH proved that. The tightness and solidarity the musicians all exhibited were only enhanced with Jason's voice. The lyrics were well thought out, and the musical dynamics were clear and energetic enough to keep the crowd alert and interested.

The same thing could be said about Fiver, who put on an absolutely fab show — and they had a keyboard. I love keyboards when they are played as they were intended, and Sean Duncan made sure it was. They exuded the confidence of a band that has been on the stage for awhile, and they were having fun. Their somewhat spacey, Superchunk-ish tunes allowed each song to flow into the next, sounding different and complete.

The iMPS were up next, and I'd have to say that I've never seen a town love a band as Chico loves the iMPS. Duffy's exploded with people: some were running for cover when they hit the stage. People were moshing — oh yes, moshing in Duffy's. They definitely played a great set, the best I've seen. Maybe they were really amped for the show, maybe the crowd's energy and excitement was contagious; I don't know, but it was fun. They played a great mixture of songs, and one of my favorite things about the iMPS is that when they break it down and jam, it doesn't get boring. So if you missed this show, catch them next time, or your loss. They closed with "Keep On Rockin' In The Free World," and people started getting crazy, so we didn't get to hear "Rocket Man."

– Laney Erokan

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