Live music review: Holy Wave and Queen Serene celebrated their new releases at Hotel Vegas
On Saturday, August 19 at Hotel Vegas, Holy Wave and Queen Serene celebrated their new releases with an evening of live music at the iconic East-Sixth venue’s outdoor stage.
Post-punks Queen Serene went on at around 8:20, kicking off a seven-song setlist with “Double Life,” a song that was released as a single in March.
The Austin quartet consisting of Sarah Ronan (lead vocals, guitar), Matt Galceran (lead guitar, backing vocals), Dale Pohly (bass), and Riley Corcoran (drums), was conceived during the COVID lockdown, but the previous experience (The Naked Tungs) of its members is evident in their musical expansion and precision.
Their new single, “Isengard,” released on August 19, was the celebratory centerpiece for the band that night, and was the second number performed during the evening.
With catchy bass lines and sophisticated song structure, Queen Serene sounded succinct, tight, and displayed heightened execution in their live performance as they rocked the crowd for a solid 45-minute set.
Queen Serene Setlist:
Double Life
Isengard
Hard Pill
Close 2 Ground
Corners
20/20
Debt
After a brief intermission during the stage setup, 15-year veterans of the Texas psych-rock scene, Holy Wave, wasted no time in kicking off the celebration of their latest LP release, Five of Cups, with a synthesizer-fueled, jam-out session.
The experienced five-piece act went on at around 9:15, immediately engaging the audience with a mesmerically-chill, mellow introduction.
In recent years the band has shifted away from the confines of “psych,” and are now not so easy to pin to any single genre. The quintet’s, El Paso-Austin evolution consists of Dustin Zozaya, Joey Cook, Julian Ruiz, Kyle Hager, and Ryan Fuson who dished out a veritable, musical mosaic. The group’s vocal incorporation does not emphasize lyrical complexity so much as a melodic contribution to their well-layered instrumentation.
Both bands delivered entertaining performances in front of a packed Hotel Vegas venue. Hotel Vegas consistently provides top-notch bills, and the impressive sets delivered by Queen Serene and Holy Wave were a perfect example of this.
All photos by Brian Hillsman
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