By: Jared Stranberg
For over six years, the band Oh, Sleeper has been on hiatus. Occasionally, they would perform at concerts that would be one- or two-day events. Finally, they have started touring nationwide once again, to build up hype for the first full album since 2011.
Touring with them are the bands Earth Groans and The Agony Scene. Unfortunately, only Earth Groans could join Oh, Sleeper for the first portion of their tour, so local bands such as Stronghold, No Loss No Regrets, Your Last Chance and Stronghold opened for the two headliners.
Since these bands were local, they weren’t expected to necessarily be flawless. Additionally, to really leave a lasting impression on concertgoers, the audience and the band must feed off each other’s excitement. Perhaps it was the venue location, perhaps not even Oh, Sleeper can garner enough an audience to fill the room, but either way, the early acts suffered for it.
This is not to say that the local acts weren’t musically solid. Each band performed well musically with minor gripes here and there regarding certain musical style choices. It was simply the fact that the bands couldn’t get the crowd excited enough, and it seemed to affect the impression of each act.
When Earth Groans took stage, things started heating up a bit more. The performance was solid, and the audience seemed to finally get into the music. Their energy, their way of building the hype, Earth Groans exemplified a band worthy of touring across the nation. As somebody who had never heard them before, I respect them both as musicians and performers after such an act.
The audience was finally ready to hear what they came for. Even as band members for Oh, Sleeper set up their stage equipment, a sense of excitement was building throughout the room. Micah Kinard, the lead singer for Oh, Sleeper, worked silently in a jacket with his hood up like a boxer in a tunnel walk, and on the back was written “The storm shall pass.”
Smoke, lights, and like a boxing match, off came the jacket. Whatever the size of the audience actually was, it didn’t matter, as what previously felt like a small-time concert exploded into what could easily be mistaken as several thousand people watching the performance on a grand stage. When singers Micah Kinard and Shane Blay could step away from their microphones at any point and the room would finish the verse, it became clear that everybody was here to see them. Oh, Sleeper knew this, and they rocked it.
I briefly spoke with Oh, Sleeper drummer Zac Mayfield after their performance and asked him what sparked Oh, Sleeper to awaken from their slumber.
“We all got jobs, and things grew busy. But as time moved on, the guys started wanting to make music again. But all of us, we aren’t the types to do things halfway. So, if we were to write music again, it would be a full album. This tour is to rebuild the hype for our newest album, which I believe is some of the best music we’ve written.”
After a performance like theirs in a venue as small as it was, I certainly agree that they don’t do things halfway, and I expect their album will be of an equal caliber.
A special thanks to Midwest Elite Concerts for being so willing to help UNO students and granting us access this concert.
