Asheville is a place of many oddities, trinkets, varied citizens and musical talent. This past week I decided to focus on the oddities and musical talent.
Coming down the grapevine from several friends, I learned of a concert for a band composed of just UNC Asheville students. Porcelain Parrot is a 4-piece indie-rock band consisting of guitarist Noah Brackett, vocalist Jonathan Davis, bassist Nathanael Reeves and drummer Brandon Grovenger. They consider themselves to be indie-rock and have been known to do a few covers intermixed with their own music.
The Odd is a place for talent young and old, local and from far lands to showcase themselves in a lovely bar setting. The Odd itself is just that, odd. There are murals everywhere, new drinks to try, plenty of food and beer on tap or in cans to help your stay be enjoyable. They make a very good mule, if you’re around.
The bar aside, The Odd functions as a music venue for smaller artists to showcase their talents and get their names out to the greater Asheville area. On this night there was a triple feature. Of those features, I made my way out for just one band. I wanted to see my fellow students performing in their band, Porcelain Parrot. The experience began and I immediately felt the electricity surge through the room. The gentle whir of their amplifiers, the sounds of tuning echoing throughout the space, the anticipatory silence of a crowd of students and regulars alike as the band is introduced. I found myself almost entranced, but just craving the show to begin.
All too suddenly the drummer clicks off and no bodies remain still as Porcelain Parrot begins their set. There are headbangers, partners dancing and friends gently swaying and keeping time with the bassist. The small venue size of The Odd means you’re truly feeling the music throughout your body. Every hit of the drummers base vibrates the floor under your feet and brings you to almost question the stability of the flooring below you. The size of The Odd as a venue came with a few drawbacks, being that mixing sound for small venues tends to be a very touchy process. This means I often found myself lost in the guitar and drums, but the overall mix was well done.
During the show I found myself enjoying a cocktail and Jell-O shot, relaxing with my friends and extending a bit of good conversation to the UNCA students present in between songs. The Odd made for an experience I won’t soon forget and gave me the opportunity to see just what the students of UNCA are capable of when given opportunity and creative freedom to explore their interests.