MWA Live: Minor Characters Release Voir Dire at the Hideout – 10/17

We walked into the Hideout to the sounds of Elsinore‘s sound check. On this particular Friday, Minor Characters were releasing their first full-length album, Voir Dire. Admittedly a bit early, we sat at the bar to kill some time; two beers later, the doors opened and an enthusiastic audience was allowed in.

Soon after, Ryan Groff of Elsinore hopped on stage, accompanied shortly after by the rest of the band. About a year ago, we were fortunate enough to catch them at the Subterranean for their PUSH/PULL release show. Last Friday, it was good to hear some of those time-tested songs played in support of Minor Character’s release.

Those few that weren’t in the room for Elsinore absolutely made their way in for Santah. The crowd was prepared to be wowed by the local favorites, and the outfit stepped up to the challenge from the first note. Santah breezed through their catalog effortlessly, setting the audience into swoons with “Springfield” and hypnotizing the rest of us with the keys, both energetic and completely on-point.

Minor Characters, dressed to the nines as they stepped on-stage, took their much-anticipated headlining spot right before midnight. The appreciation they showed a room full of friends and family was heart-warming, and their excitement to play an entire album’s worth of new material to the audience was infectious. Voir Dire is an album loaded with, simply put, sincere and really good indie rock tunes, and this performance was no different. Opening with “Neighbors”, the strong vocals commanded the audience’s attention immediately. With gusto, the quartet played the album in order, including a few that they’ve been teasing, most notably “Berlin Wall” and “Broadway Bow”.

As the set ended, Andrew hopped off stage, leaving the rest of his band mates to call him back and inform him that their audience was in need of an encore. He happily obliged, playing an early tune with guitarist Shelby Pollard and then exploding into “Miss You” by the Rolling Stones. The crowd sang along, danced along, and enjoyed every damn minute of it because it was amazing. What an awesome way to end the show! A definite high note.

This bill was loaded with great local talent and was one of the more enjoyable live performances I’ve seen in a while. Many congratulations to Minor Characters for releasing Voir Dire and throwing one hell of a party.

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