Sometimes love can make you feel like clapping your hands and singing, and sometimes it can make you feel so used and broken. Sometimes love can do this all in the same night. Case in point: the show at The Hamilton last Sunday was a musical assemblage of all the things love does to our unsuspecting hearts as put to music by Falls and The Nightowls.
Have you ever been to a show, and as you’re listening, you realize song-after-song sounds like the words of the inner-monologue you have said to yourself as you grapple through heartbreak and try to put your life back together?
The formerly romantic Australian duo Falls, comprised of Simon Rudston-Brown and Melinda Kirwin, have done just that with their upcoming debut record, “Omaha.” The turmoil as you process betrayal, the nostalgia as you think back on the good times, and the eventual growing apart as you let go — this album covers the whole spectrum.
“Letting me down easy is the least that you can do,
Seeing you leaving has got me believing I’m not good enough for you.”
– Falls lyrics from “Let in the Light”
Singing with an acoustic guitar and an autoharp, Falls crooned to the small but enchanted audience, opening for The Nightowls, who are the perfect progression from one to the other. After all the heartbreak, you are ready to have fun, dance, and open your heart again to new love.
“All these songs are new songs because you’ve never heard us before,” explained Kirwin in her ethereal manner and plucky Australian accent. “But for us, this is the very first time playing a couple of these songs.”
But this wasn’t their first show in D.C. Last year they opened for the sold out Delta Rae show at 9:30 Club, showcasing songs they hadn’t even recorded yet. Kirwin laughed remembering the last time they were in D.C., “we were up to our ears in snow” and so was glad for the warm late-summer weather this time around.
During the past few years of touring, playing at festivals and opening for other bands including The Josh Butler Trio, Of Monsters and Men, and The Lumineers, Falls have spent a lot of time in the U.S. They say this time on the road influenced their new album quite a bit.
The sounds of Nashville can be heard in the song, “Nothing Ever Comes My Way”:
“One thing that’s for certain, that all the tough times are worth it,
If I get to spend just one good time with you.
When that road leads you somewhere that you don’t want to know,
and you’re reminded of it everywhere you go.
You’re just another one-man show.”
And of course, “Independence Day,” is the perfect musings of losing someone, drinking about it, and reflecting on how to be a better person even through all the celebrations of the Fourth of July:
“And I spent hours just waiting,
The sky turned from blue to red to black.
I never felt this much alone,
As to hear those far-off bombs explode,
And hope all night that you might call me back.”
Each song from “Omaha” is really a spectacular feat of vulnerability and honesty. These two fit together the words you were too embarrassed or hurt to even trust to pen on paper, much less confess in song to crowds of strangers. Falls has found a beautiful way to share their own struggles as their relationship ended and their musical career together has taken off.
After Falls, in an entire flip of tone, the ten-member neo-soul band, The Nightowls, was up for their first show in D.C.
From Austin, Texas, The Nightowls wished everyone a happy Sunday Funday and laid the ground rules from the start: encouraging everyone to dance, clap their hands, and “most importantly, tonight, you have to love.”
The combination of their Motown sound and joyous energy led by front-man Ryan Harkrider made for a spirited show. The men in the band were dapper in their suits and the female vocalist dazzled in sequins.
The night was filled with songs like their 2013 track “Good As Gold,” with new music off their latest record “Fame Sessions” recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals studios in Alabama. Plus, they sprinkled a few classics for a show that was infectiously fun.
The camaraderie of this band seemed like a lost magic renewed, each person bringing a unique layer of strength to the ensemble. The Nightowls inspired the audience to literally “Get Up!” like their new song instructs with a call and repeat:
“I wanna clap my hands
I wanna stomp my feet
I wanna move my hips, do the twist
Baby I think it’s time to get up…. and get down!”
Most of their tunes were descriptive of fiercely passionate love– and at the end of the night, The Nightowls music makes you question why you have ever put up with love that was anything less.
Post by Cristina Rayas, Photos by Toby Mues