Written by Bria Cox
Photos by Haesung Michael Lee
Walking into Waukee’s newest venue, the Vibrant Music Hall, feels like entering a portal. The venue stands alone in a stretch of barren grass and concrete, but once inside, I was transported into a sleek and red-accented scene from an interior design magazine. After walking through doors surrounded by a bright, roller-skating themed mural, I stepped into the large and dimly lit concert hall space. While I found only four, apparently the building houses SEVEN total bars so audience members are never far from a place to grab a (very expensive) beer.
I found a spot to stand as close as I could to the stage as the music playing over speakers faded, and the opening act– the New Translations– came onto the stage shrouded in blue lights. Ben Dunn’s funky bass riffs reverberated through the floor, Phillip Walker’s drums provided the band’s rhythmic heartbeat, Isaac Middleton and Andrés Ahogado switched between guitar and synth-y sounding keyboards, all topped off with a smooth vocal performance by Oliver Pierce. When I look back on their set, what I remember most distinctly was Pierce dancing so intensely that his sunglasses flew across the stage. When the group announced that this was their Iowa debut, the crowd roared back excitedly in response.
During an interview with the lead singer, I got to dive deeper into the band’s origins and inspirations. After asking where Pierce learned his dance moves, he cited David Byrne’s signature “shaky knees” and Mitski’s unmistakable stage presence as major inspirations. His sentiment towards dancing can be summarized by the quote: “When words aren’t enough, you sing, and when singing isn’t enough, you dance.” Pierce describes the New Translations’ performances as a “public diary release”, with their debut album, Vacations, being like a series of journal entries. I was impressed by the Nashville group’s engaging energy and groovy music, and I certainly hope they’ll return to Iowa soon.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise has been a staple in the indie music scene for over a decade, so- needless to say- I was pretty excited to get a chance to hear them live. Lead singer and frontwoman Ela Melo shined brightly on stage- both literally (with stage lights reflecting off of her sequin dress), and with her contagious energy. RKS started off the show with a couple of their well known alt-folk tracks such as “It’s Called: Freefall” and “Cocaine Jesus”. Band members Jess Haney, Ethan Goodpaster, and Darrick “Bozzy” Keller provided multi-layered, harmonizing background vocals in addition to playing their respective instruments: drums, lead guitar, and rhythm guitar. On bass, the group brought on Maddie Bouton in place of the recently let-go Charlie Holt. Between songs, Melo spoke words of encouragement to the crowd, reminding people to accept themselves for who they are, and to take joy in that fact.
The band also delved into tracks from their newest album, Love Hate Music Box, which has been a new stylistic venture. Departing from a primarily folk-rock sound, Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s newest releases experiment with pop beats and electronic elements. If you’ve given this album a listen and didn’t mesh with it, then I highly recommend seeing the group in concert. I felt similarly, but was impressed by how much I enjoyed the live versions compared to their studio releases. Audience members got a taste of the group’s unreleased tracks as well. I found their new single “Espionage” to be incredibly catchy and surprisingly funky (compared to the band’s past music).
Both Rainbow Kitten Surprise and the New Translations delivered a truly stellar performance. After this show, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for their future releases. The Vibrant Music Hall’s powerful sound and lighting systems emphasized the talent of the musicians on stage. With such a shiny, new, and large-capacity indoor music venue right outside of Des Moines, I hope that more bands like the two I saw tonight will be drawn to share their art with Iowans.
