Slideshow and short review: Two Harbors CD Release Show at Uptown Bar and Café on 6/5/09

By: David de Young

HowWasTheShow is proud to present Jenn Barnett's photo slide show from Two Harbors CD Release show at the Uptown Bar.  Music is "You Pulled The Rug Out" from All The Places We Would Rather Be.

Two Harbors celebrated the release of their first CD on the Susstones label Friday night  to an enthusiastic crowd of supportive local music fans at the Uptown Bar in Minneapolis.  The band, formerly known as Colonial Vipers Attack, took the stage just before 11:30 and wowed the crowd with their soaring Brit pop ballads and nothing short of world-class presentation.  This is a band that is ready for the limelight, and once the Uptown Bar crew had adjusted the lights so we could actually see them, one could see why. 

Lead vocalist Chris Pavlich's voice soars, and he is remarkably relaxed onstage giving the music an epic and unquestionably confident weight.  Two Harbors new album All The Places We Would Rather Be is one for long drives on sunny afternoons (or overcast ones, for that matter.)  It's centerpiece, opening track "You Pulled The Rug Out" would be at home on any radio station in the world, and it's no surprise it's getting heavy airplay on 89.3 The Current here at home.  Just as strong is the album's second track, "What I Keep Inside," a song that would surely have hands in the air at many a British rock festival if this band were to be slipped onto a bill at say Glastonbury or Reading this year.  Oasis and Ian Brown often come to mind when Two Harbors are at their best, and this song brings together the best of what you might expect from both those sources and more.

After a few spins, you realize this 11-song album is a stronger offering than many nationally-signed acts have turned in lately.  Forget what you knew about Colonial Vipers Attack.  The same four musicians who made up that band, Pavlich and Kris Johnson (lead guitars), Jeremy Bergo (bass) and Shawn Grider (drums) have thrown out anything that wasn't working before and fine tuned the rest leaving them one of the better bands playing Minnesota stages right now.  One reason why is where any collection of musicians can call themselves a band, the lineup of Two Harbors is truly one that is greater than the sum of its parts.  Easy to root for, a sinch to enjoy, settle in to your corner of the club next time you see them listed on a bill and sit back and soak in the music.

Set list:

Service Secret
Drowning
Landslide
Right Now
Miles Away
Only Chance
Silent Treatment
What I Keep Inside
Went So Far
You Pulled the Rug Out

Location Info: Uptown Bar and Café
Artist Info: Two Harbors

Share this story: