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Sound Stage

Young acts leave rockin’ first-impressions

8/14/2013

Deaf Kids at Play front man Dan Harrington performing a battle of the bands show at Vaudville Mews.

Deaf Kids at Play front man Dan Harrington performing a battle of the bands show at Vaudville Mews.

Vaudeville Mews played host to three young acts this past Sunday. Originally part of a larger event with seven bands slated to perform, various difficulties cut the lineup down to just three for the afternoon, but that didn’t stop the groups that performed — Deaf Kids at Play, Pinewood Overcoat and 515 — from doing their best to please the crowd.

Deaf Kids at Play lead off the show, and while the still-filtering crowd was small, the four-piece delivered a solid little set. Despite its relative newcomer status to the local scene — Deaf Kids have only been at Play since February — the set was high-energy and tight, with the pop-punk outfit giving off a very strong Green Day vibe, up to and including front man Dan Harrington’s more than passing vocal and physical resemblance.

Batting second that evening was Pinewood Overcoat, a Waukee two-piece making its live performance debut on the Mews stage. As a two-piece outfit, the obvious local comparison would be to Viva Montesa, but it’s not a particularly apt one. Guitarist Ian Bassett doesn’t split his guitar through a guitar-and-bass amp like Ted Schwick does in the aforementioned, making Pinewood Overcoat’s sound lighter and less bluesy. A better comparison would be to Dylan Sires and Neighbors, because of Pinewood Overcoat’s obvious pop-rock leanings and its penchant for a more upbeat, indie sound.

Final act of the night was 515, which was also brand new to the stage. The five-piece included keyboards along with the guitars-bass-drums setup, and it was the closest thing came to a pure rock set in the evening. By the time 515 took the stage, the crowd had ballooned to 90 or so people, and the band’s loud, pumped-up set played into the audience energy well. CV

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