Indie-pop band Annuals was started by front man Adam Baker in North Carolina.  By the time they started playing there finally was a decent amount of people for the show, though it was still not packed.  The band has two drummers, both using translucent drums (one also with bongos) with a couple matching toms that a couple other members played each on a few songs.  All drums were played for the start and I discovered the purpose of the transparency.  The lights were put out and as the drums were played they lit up in bright green and blue colors.  They did not abuse this novelty too much.  The necessity for two drummers was questionable though, especially since they often played the same beats.  Fortunately, they did not always both play drums.  In fact, at one instrument change a drummer bumped into the chimes, seemingly accidentally, which actually fit very well with that part of the song.

The songs usually started mellow and built up at some point in the music and were mostly upbeat.  Often the vocals were not especially engaging, but were still good and worked with the music.  Sometimes there was screaming, other times Baker was sounding like Incubus singer Brandon Boyd and other times even like Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie.  His general persona was more in line with Architecture in Helsinki's Cameron Bird and their music is not too far off, though without the cuteness. Through the whole show though, he constantly licked his lips, keeping them moist I suppose, but quite a sight.

When the set was over half done, stumbling drunks shouted for an encore to which a band member replied, "We can't play an encore until we finish."  The following song was an interesting one with synthesized honky tonk style piano and cowbells whose combination gave a sort of music box effect.  Other songs really got the front crowd dancing and by the end there was a long well deserved applause for the encore.  They played two more songs which featured Baker singing much higher briefly, going swiftly back to his normal singing voice which was a great effect.  They finished how they started, with a drum beat not much unlike you'd hear in a drum section of a marching band and of course with the drums lit up. It's too bad the show couldn't be put into a seamless replay loop.

Many of the songs were not ones you would go back specifically to listen to, but they were still great songs.  These were the kind meant to be enjoyed as a whole, not really going anywhere, and did not have as strong of hooks as other songs they played.  This music will not get tired or old as quickly as the more distinctive songs though, so it's wonderful they have both types.  It was a nice show and I even was given an Annuals sticker as I walked out.  What else could you ask for?  Two stickers?