Portland – For the first time, Swear and Shake brought their self-proclaimed “Big Hook Americana” sound here. The band were playing as a trio at Doug Fir on Saturday, since drummer Ben Goldstein is not accompanying them on their current tour with Bronze Radio Return. The band was then comprised of original members Kari Spieler and Adam McHeffey, and bassist Shaun Savage. New York-born Swear and Shake moved to Nashville last November—the ideal place to work on their indie folk sound. The band attributed distance to their never having played in the Northwest before. Leave it to the acoustics of Doug Fir and the crowd’s enthusiasm to keep them coming back.
Formed in 2010 by Spieler and McHeffey when they were both attending SUNY Purchase, the band has since dropped two EPs, Extended Play and Ain’t That Lovin’, and their 2012 full-length debut Maple Ridge. Because the band was playing sans drummer, an ample amount of their set was dedicated to new songs that they were able to write while on tour and perform pretty much immediately after they were written. One ditty, “Tina,” the band had written just days before the show. Spieler readily explained that the song was loosely based on Tina Turner as she told the crowd: “She’s my God.”
As with most great folk, the band focused on lyricism and happy, upbeat delivery to entice the crowd. As the more subdued McHeffey took over the microphone on “Good As Gone,” Swear and Shake’s playful lyrics were at the forefront. However, lyrics with an almost-hopeless mentality like “you said you never loved me and I know you never will” on “These White Walls” were actually rampant throughout their set. The band’s underlying layer of somberness is one of the things they get absolutely right: it makes folk less about banjos and harmonies and more about heart.
Spieler quickly reminded the audience that the power of voice is not lost. From the start of their set, Spieler was nothing short of mesmerizing whenever she began to sing. Although she had something of an innocent look with her voluminous brown curls and pale green floral dress, there was a pure emotion in her delivery that commanded attention. The momentum of it only kept building as the show went on.
The space began to fill almost immediately after the start of the show and the sometimes difficult to warm Portland audience were anything but, with various concertgoers dancing, cheering and even throwing in the proverbial head bob. By the time their third song, “Like You Do,” was over, the audience was solidifying their excitement with validation that Swear and Shake were, in fact, awesome.
The band ended their set with a guest appearance by Bronze Radio Return’s Rob Griffith on drums. By the end of the show, it was difficult as an audience member not to be completely charmed by Swear and Shake. McHeffey happily exclaimed to the crowd, “Thank you for being our first.”
Swear and Shake have another week+ worth of dates on their spring tour. Check out their Facebook to see if they’re playing near you.
Dakota Smith
Follow her on twitter in case she says something funny: @LikeTheStates
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