We made the 5-hour drive to Pittsburgh through the rain and got in a nice romantic dinner before settling in at Howlers – a local rock / dive bar in Pittsburgh to see Elephant Stone. My wife and I have been fans of theirs since we first saw them at Levitation Austin in 2013, and I was eager to hear tracks from their new album, Ship of Fools, live.
We had to wait a little while, however, because we were surprised to learn there were three bands playing before them. The first was a local hero – Paul Labrise – who played in a rock three-piece that laid down a good mix of surf, rockabilly, and garage rock.
Following them were One Day Steady – who were only on the second date of their current tour. They played loud, enthusiastic that reminded us of Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and a little bit of Red Hot Chili Peppers for good measure.
The Tilt Room were another three-piece, but this one played Americana / acoustic jams and didn’t mess around. They got on stage, blasted through a short set, and sounded good.
Elephant Stone got on stage after 11:00pm and ended up played a shorter than normal set due to the late start time. It was, nonetheless, impressive as always. This is the smallest venue in which we’ve seen them, and hearing tracks like “Andromeda,” “Manipulator,” and “The Devil’s Shelter” in such a space was uplifting. Many of the members of the other bands stuck around for their set and were impressed by their sound and efficiency.
We got to chat with Elephant Stone frontman Rishi Dhir, and it was great to finally meet him in person after a couple years of seeing them in Texas and swapping Tweets. He gave us a hug before and after their set, which was (unbeknownst to him) the best birthday gift he could’ve given my wife – as it was officially her birthday by the post-midnight end of their set. It was a fine set at that, and shame on you if you missed it. Catch them on this tour if you can.
Keep your mind open.
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