The first real cold snap NYC has seen this year finally engulfed the city on Thursday night, but I was warm and cozy inside Cameo Gallery to catch High Ends. Meant to fill a period of downtime from critically acclaimed Canadian band Yukon Blonde, Jeffrey Innes managed to cultivate a richly layered psychedelic pop sound.
Opening the night were The Highway, who were heavy on the psychedelic rock scale. The band had catchy tunes that elicited a playful, upbeat vibe. What stood out most to me is that it seemed that all of their songs had either extended jams in the middle of the song or at the end, and as a lover of instrumental rock music, and jamming in general – I really enjoyed. With a killer guitarist in their back pocket, the band earned the crowd’s attention easily.
Next up, Skyes hailing from Brooklyn, eased us into probably the most unexpectedly amazing set that I’ve seen in a while. First of all, they had a Moog, which I always appreciate. Nothing like chest rumbling synths to get the party started. The band, fronted by vocalist DA Knightley, who had absolutely incredible vocals that put me in the mind of Lady Gaga mixed with Miley Cyrus (Miley can sing despite what you all may think); was the perfect counterpart to the synth-heavy instrumentation. The band pulled out a wide variety of unexpected sounds, textures and layers that definitely held my interest from each song to the next.
High Ends closed out the night playing their most recognizable tune, The Weight. Accompanied by a round of playful banter, the band certainly won a ton of new fans, and reinforced their hold with existing ones. Let’s hope that Jeffrey has a ton more free time on his hands to continue releasing High Ends’ material for the masses.
Article by: Lesley Keller
The Highway
The Highway
The Highway
The Highway
The Highway
Skyes
Skyes
Skyes
High Ends
High Ends
High Ends
High Ends
High Ends
