The Elovators Show Review & Interview at Wild Buffalo 2/1/24
The Elovators, Shwayze and Claire Wright Show Review
Written by Justin Dobbelaar
Showing up at the venue, I noticed a long line at the door of fans and friends. All with smiles, laughter, and conversations of other shows they've been to recently, patiently waiting to create yet another memorable night.
Now, I've been to many shows over the years here at The Wild Buffalo but this night felt extra special. Partly because I was about to see one of my favorite bands, The Elovators, perform a set full of beautiful melodies, tight grooves, and memorable guitar riffs.
The Sold Out show began with Claire Wright taking stage with her three piece band to set the mood for the rest of the night. I found her music really easy to listen to, she mixes the So-Cal Reggae with a hint of country storytelling. The crowd was listening intently and laughing along with her fun stories about the tour and life back home in Northern California. About halfway through her set, the drummer and bassist left the stage and they went into a soft acoustic song accompanied by her guitar player. As the song came to an end, her band came back out and ended the song with a full rich sound, which brought a nice dynamic flow to the set. Shortly after, they went into a cover of Amy Winehouse's "Valerie" and had the whole crowd singing along. Overall, a great opening set from Claire Wright and her band. The songs were catchy, the mix from the sound engineer was beautiful, and it left everyone with a smile on their face. If you find yourself on the beach sitting around a bonfire, her music is the perfect choice to set the vibe.
Up next was Shwayze! Now, this was very nostalgic for me because I listened to Shwayze and Cisco all the time back when I was in middle school. I have yet to see Shwayze perform live so I was excited to experience that. This Southern California Rapper did not disappoint, his lyrics are clever and fun to sing along to and the crowd simply could not stay still during his set. He was joined by a drummer and guitar player, with some backing tracks to fill out the bass and vocal dubs. Shwayze had a couple of features throughout his set, first was Claire Wright to perform their single "Slice of Sunshine" together. Then, to my surprise, Nick Zilla, the drummer for The Elovators, ran up on stage to sing the hit song "Corona and Lime" from Shwayze's self titled album released in 2008. As a fellow drummer, It was really cool to see a drummer on the mic and absolutely nailing it. That was the highlight of the night for me and I'm sure for many others! For only the second night on the Endless Summer tour everything was pretty dialed in. He then closed the set out with " Buzzin' " another hit from his self titled album, and left the crowd on a high. Everyone was definitely feeling Shwayzted.
When the Elovators took the stage, all the lights turned off and an ambient bass heavy intro began. As the tension built and each of the five members walked out one by one, the crowd was hyped and ready to see their favorite Boston progressive-roots band. The band kicked into the song "Castaway" from their latest album "Endless Summer". One of my many favorites from that record. I noticed that the mix was perfectly fit for this room, I normally have to wear earplugs once the headliners are on stage but it was mixed so well that I really didn't need them. I could hear every instrument and nothing was distorted. Shoutout to the front of house engineer! Later in the set, they went into the song "Wind on my Back", nearing the bridge of the song they led into a rocking guitar solo which was much different than the record on their 2017 album "The Cornerstone". I was impressed by how their set flowed together like a "Cool River", never missing a beat or leaving dead air between the songs. As the night came to a close, they had a beautiful acoustic arrangement of "Gimmie Love". With hands in the air, the crowd swayed along to the floaty atmosphere that The Elovators had created, it really felt like we were transported to a gig in outer space. I highly recommend seeing this band live if you haven't already. They put on one hell of show.
We got the privilege to chat with The Elovators and ask drummer/co-founder Nick Asta a few questions about the band and some advice they have for aspiring bands on the road.
1. Can you share a memorable or defining moment in your journey as a musician so far? (ex: specific show, conversation, press)
One defining moment as a band was playing Red Rocks for the first time. We had been touring for years and Red Rocks was always a milestone in our minds, so when Stick Figure invited us to play we were blown away. Walking up the hill towards the amphitheater, for the first time, really solidified our career in our minds. Then stepping on stage, at such a prestigious venue, looking out at the rocks and the crowd…it was otherworldly
2. Do you have any pre-performance rituals or routines to get in the right mindset before a show?
Before a show or right before we go on stage, we always have to calm our nerves and meditate a little bit. Sometimes I’ll sit in a corner and warm up my hands with my drumsticks on a practice pad, and find some calm before the storm. Then right before we walk on stage, we gather as a family, all put our hands in a circle and scream, FAMILY and POWER. This is a tradition that has been going on since we first started.
3. What are your favorite snacks to have in the green room?
Being out on tour and living in a tour bus, it’s definitely not easy to eat healthy. The easiest way to eat is to getting fast food whenever the bus stops at a gas station and that’s gross. So with that in mind, we like to have healthy food backstage. I know it sounds boring but a platter of vegetables and some healthy sandwich meats really hits the spot when we’re playing a show. Lately friends and fans from around the country have offered to cater for us and bring healthier foods, we’re very lucky to have a lot of fans bring us some homemade meals and break the cycle of fast food and junk. We had this one crewmember who kept putting ham sandwiches on our backstage rider and it turned into an ongoing joke because none of us really enjoy ham so if anyone’s gonna bring us food, please don’t bring us ham sandwiches.
4. Do you like to work on new material while on the road or is the total focus on the shows ahead?
Although being on the road and traveling on the tour bus daily is hard, we have found time in the past to write songs and even record demos on the bus: Greg and Jackson actually wrote and recorded a song off of our album, Castles, called “Down the Road” on tour. The demo of that song and a few others, including “Gardenia,” made it onto our album. A lot of ideas for songs were made while driving down the road in the back of the bus. It’s not easy, but when inspiration strikes we try to write down our ideas and put them into the mix
5. What are some essentials that you (or each member) HAVE to have while on tour?
A few essentials that are necessary for being on a long tour are simple amenities that people have at home. Being able to shower once a day is crucial. Sometimes venues will have showers, but when they don’t, we have to figure it out on our own typically will shower at a gym, the whole bus will stop and everyone will hop out and shower and brush our teeth as quick as possible. Also things like caffeine and healthy food and clean clothes go a really long way for our sanity.
6. Advice you would give a new artist planning a tour? Either general advice for new artists or about going on tour and how to be prepared for the road.
Some advice that I would give a new a brand new artist on touring is that you need to be ready to grind. Life on the road is not a constant party like it seems to be in the movies. It’s difficult and tedious. Sleep is hard to find, healthy food is hard to find. You need to focus on your health and be ready to work harder than you’ve ever worked. Jump right into the touring life if you’re a brand new band because you need to build your audience in different markets, and years down the road it will all be worth it. But seeing the country and meeting so many amazing people in each city can build a bond with your bandmates & your audience that can’t be broken. It’s all been so worth it for us and we can’t wait to see more of the world and keep doing what we’ve been doing.
Thank you to Claire Wright, Shwayze, The Elovators, and the Wild Buffalo for a great night of live music. It's always a pleasure to have great bands come through Bellingham and we hope to see you all again soon. If you'd like to support the artists they have merch available on their websites, that's the best way to directly support touring bands. I've linked all their websites below. Cheers!
Links:
Claire Wright: Website | Spotify
The Elovators: Website | Spotify
The Wild Buffalo: Website | Instagram
Justin Dobbelaar (Writer): Personal Instagram | Band Instagram
Aaron Wigs (Additional Photo of Shwayze and Claire Wright from their tour in 2023): Website | Instagram