Defiance, Ohio / Disaster / Flotilla Way

The opener, Flotilla Way, was an all-female trio playing what can flatteringly be described as "lackadaisical pop" and less considerately as "boring." Mostly filler as more and more people seeped into the coffeshop.

Geoff, the somewhat main vocalist of Defiance, Ohio, brought along his two-piece hardcore band called Disaster. As far as hardcore bands go, Disaster did okay considering the lack of a bass or second guitar; it was interesting to see Geoff throatily screaming into a microphone. Disaster set up a slideshow to accompany their songs that I unfortunately couldn't see, although Geoff's song explanations were intelligent enough to make up for that. The songs themselves were nothing memorable or amazing; it was like any other out-of-place hardcore opener.

The rest of Defiance, Ohio then came on and, after a slight volume adjustment, launched into "Bikes and Bridges." The crowd was already moving and singing along when they commented on the absence of their sixth member and requested everyone to sing along to "Response to Griot," to which the crowd happily responded. They played only three songs from their new album: "Enough," "Oh, Susquehanna," and "Trip and Stumble," and spent most of their set on crowd favorites like "I Don't Want Solidarity If It Means Holding Hands With You," "Road Signs Always Look Better Over Your Shoulder," and the cover of "Things We Say" by the Gorilla Biscuits. Defiance, Ohio is really a better live band than on recordings; songs that I had dismissed on their releases came back and blew me away, notably "Response to Griot," "Old Dead Tree," and "Enough." Playing two encores before bowing out, Defiance, Ohio left me breathless and inspired; perhaps I'm just naive and inexperienced, but they played with as much heart as any other band I've seen, and the only time I've seen a crowd respond as positively was at Set Your Goals. The whole band seemed like nice people, confirmed by their interactions with individual audience members after the show, at the merch table, and just in general.

A band that is not to be missed should they tour through your area.