Empty Rooms started their set with an interesting instrumental that coincided with an odd smoke coming from the pool table area.  Ready to evacuate, nothing happened and there was no smell to the mysterious cloud, so I continued watching the San Francisco band.  A lot more people filled the room than the first opener, but by the end they would, as camera man Michael put it, live up to their name.  After the band's good instrumental start the song either changed, or a very similar song came on right after and was still good stuff.  What followed was different though.

The singer in his indie clothes and pointy fancy shoes started to add his vocals and what was good in the music was severely detracted by his singing.  He thanked a man named Rob for getting him drunk (though he did not seem drunk) and said he promised to give him the best performance ever.  He and the other bearded band members, along with the beardless drummer, did their best and continued to put out the nice instrumental tunes in between the off putting vocals.  Some of the crowd did not see the good side to the music and either moved from the front or simply left.  

They continued unheeded by the gradual loss of an audience and dedicated the next song to Mike and Christy who are from New Orleans since the song was about the city.  At this announcement a girl cried out, "Woo!" and a band member explained that she was a plant.  They continued to play the song which would be the last of the set.  This one began more mellow than the rest, but was slow building in a repetitive part where the singer head nodded a little too much.  The "bang" that came after the build was not worth the wait at all unfortunately.  The singer soon after put his guitar down and picked up a couple mallets and proceeded to beat on the outside head of the bass drum and the toms.  The keyboardist was clapping all alone and the whole scene was a band trying to be bigger than they are, but eventually it was over.  The music can do well at times and the singing might appeal to a select few, but there is room for improvement, especially in the vocals.

Photo Credit: Michael Klayman / www.seemichaelsphotos.com