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It is always a bummer when really great bands get stuck on a bill that does not really suit them. Such was the case with The Honorary Title’s national tour with Between the Trees, Far-Less, and Mae.
Last Thursday, the tour made its Denver stop at the Marquis Theater where The Honorary Title played an extraordinary set while the other acts faltered.
Although the line-up seemed to feature fairly well-established bands, the dynamics of a good tour were just not there. The disconnect lay mainly in The Honorary Title’s place on a roster of emo bands.
Despite the awkwardness of such a mellow band of the indie rock persuasion appearing alongside the other bands on the tour, The Honorary Title blew the show out of the water.
The third opener for Mae, The Honorary Title took to the stage with the humility of a band that knows it is playing for only a select number of fans in the audience. The band immediately launched into the title track of its latest release Scream and Light Up the Sky. Not to disappoint its older fans, the remainder of the set struck a perfect balance between new and old numbers. While the audience seemed restless at first, lead singer Jarrod Gorbel’s lavish voice soon entranced everyone. He possesses all of the harmonic attributes of a lead
singer: a sense of humor, great stage presence, powerful voice, and of course, dashing good looks. During the heartbreakingly honest track “Revealing Too Much,” Gorbel’s quivering voice swelled with an unabashed frankness that resonated to the darkest corners of the room. Even the feistiest of teens stood with mouths open in awe of his unmistakable talent. The faster paced songs encompassed a captivating diversity of bass lines, beats, and melodies.
Perhaps the best part of the show, however, was the banter Gorbel shared with fellow band members, Aaron Kamstra, Adam Boyd, and Jon Wiley. Without missing a beat, they shot witty exchanges back and forth, building an easy rapport with the audience. Their effortless enthusiasm and energy were enamoring. After battling some mysterious microphone fuzz, Gorbel continued to crack jokes about it throughout the night. The whole dynamic worked well and made the set thoroughly enjoyable for the audience. Such on-stage chemistry is unusual in a band of its caliber. In today’s music world, it is utterly refreshing to watch a talented band that refuses to take itself too seriously.
I only wish I could have said similarly flattering things about the other acts at the show but, that would involve lying. While they all exerted a great deal of energy, they all sounded unnervingly similar, thus lapsing into cookie-cutter-band oblivion.
