As much as I love Rosali's new album Bite Down, I wasn't quite sure what to expect with a live show. An album can be as great as Bite Down, but sometimes mid-tempo songs just don't translate well in a live setting. That was not the case as Rosali and her band played The Rockwell last Thursday.
The set opened with "On Tonight," which might be the best set starting song Rosali could possibly have chosen. It's also the first song on Bite Down, and set the mood for the evening. The Rockwell is a small, intimate black box theater that occasionally hosts music, and it was the perfect setting for Rosali. Her blend of singer-songwriter alt-rock is intensely personal, and it was beautiful to see in a setting that was curated to her style so perfectly.
Plus, Rosali is a captivating performer with a fantastic band. She just has that something special that locks you in and you just can't turn away. (Not that you'd want to...) A highlight of the set was "Hills on Fire," which Rosali mentioned she considers a duet. The duet would be between her guitar player. Her vocals sounded the best they did in the entire set, and the indie rock meets country sound of the guitar matched with her vocals perfectly. It was the highlight of a set filled with highlights.
Verity Den opened the evening, and were a band I was unfamiliar with. The North Carolina band play a version of shoegaze that leans heavily into the realm of indie rock. These days it's rare for me to walk into a show without at least checking out the opening band's music, but I'm glad I didn't for Verity Den. It was an endlessly compelling set that made me desperate to hear more of them. They seem to hit this sweet spot that takes the beauty of shoegaze and has made it into what could be hit songs. We'll be checking them out next time they head our way.
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