Concert Review: Smallpools Elevates Paradise Rock Club
All images courtesy of Annaliese Baker
Smallpools is one of those bands you’ve definitely heard of, even if you don’t think you have. Their debut single “Dreaming” catapulted them to stardom in 2013, peaking at no. 23 on Billboard’s Alternative chart. Since then, the Nashville-based band has released three albums and four EPs, as well as several singles. The band currently consists of members Sean Scanlon, Mike Kamerman and Beau Kuther.
On April 5, the band dropped their EP Ghost Town Road (east) and began their “Night Shift” Tour the following day. The tour features two openers — The Romance and Boston native Fia James — and two main acts, Grayscale and Smallpools. Despite the quick release-to-tour turnaround, a line wrapped around the block on Saturday, April 13 outside Paradise Rock Club to see Smallpools and their supporting acts perform. “It’s so fun to look out into the crowd and see how many people are singing along to the brand new songs,” the band says to the audience.
Ghost Town Road (east) focuses heavily on ’80s paraphernalia, which the band cleverly incorporates into their performance. “Mike saw a street sign while driving to Vegas,” the band says onstage, of the EP’s name. “We thought it fit well with the aesthetic.” While the project is full of catchy alternative choruses and dance beats, the band’s favorite song is “Swayze,” due to the melodies and concepts discussing feelings of a newfound, movie-like love. “Mike did the production for that one,” [...] “and it was written by us and our friend Colin from Third Eye Blind in Mike’s home studio in LA.”
Paradise Rock Club’s small, intimate setting allows fans to experience the theatrical aspects of the show no matter where they are in the venue. Snippets of ’80s pop culture phenomenons played as the band walked onstage, such as famous quotes from movies and seconds of well-known songs. This radio introduction continued with cheers from the audience as Smallpools began to play their lead single “Night Shift.”
Playing further into that ’80s aesthetic, Smallpools did a handful of covers during their show. The band did a great job of catering to their audience with their setlist; they knew exactly where to play new songs, covers and fan favorites. “When supporting a new body of work we want to make sure there’s enough of those new songs,” they says. “Then, we balance it out with some of the older, more popular ones.”
About halfway through their show, Smallpools brought Fia James on stage to cover Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere.” Additionally, they covered “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears For Fears and “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing with their song “Swayze.” “It is different each tour,” they says about creating the setlist. “We rotate things in and out to try and keep fans happy and hearing their favorites, even if they might not be ours.”
During the back half of the show, Smallpools focused more on these older, fan favorites like “Killer Whales” — which the band brought out their infamous inflatable killer whale for — and “Million Bucks” from their 2017 EP THE SCIENCE OF LETTING GO. The band closed their show with their most popular song “Dreaming.”
Some musicians don’t enjoy playing their popular songs for one reason or another, but it was clear that Smallpools enjoyed playing every one of theirs and making sure their fans — regardless of whether they’re a superfan or not — were able to sing along. Smallpools truly knows and appreciates their fans and listeners alike. “We love playing the popular ones,” they say. “They get the best reaction and sing-along moments, so why not! It makes the show fun and engaging. [We] could never dream of playing a show without ‘Dreaming!’”
At the barricade, there were college students, parents, and 30-somethings looking for a night out. We don’t often see smaller artists who cater to such a wide range of people; it’s refreshing and impressive to witness this at such an intimate venue. For the rest of the “Night Shift” tour, Smallpools is looking forward to giving “fans and new attendees a great experience.”
At a capacity of just over 900 people, Smallpools kept the crowd engaged throughout the entire performance. Excited energy filled the room as the band came on stage and stayed until well after the show ended. Smallpools is such a fantastic band to see live and I can’t wait to see what they do next.