The 4411 Bring the Burn Away Tour to Houston

It’s official: summer is here, and what better way to spend the first Sunday of the season than with a show featuring The 4411 on their “Burn Away Tour,” and support from two of Houston’s finest up-and-coming bands? (The answer is there isn’t a better way.)

Walking into White Oak’s Upstairs venue just 30 minutes after doors opened, you’d think this was the place to be. And it sure was the place to be! Packed from the stage to the soundboard, the vibes were immaculate from the jump. Everyone chatting, mingling, and having a grand ol’ time; this is the Houston music scene after all, baby.

I immediately ran into some great friends of mine: Dallas Burkhardt (of SummerStock Music Festival fame) and David Gordon (aka DavidTexasBeers, aka the biggest lover of Saint Arnold’s Art Car IPA known to man). They were stoked to see the opening band, Houston’s own Junkyard Cat.

Junkyard Cat is somewhat of a supergroup of Houston musical superstars. You’ve got Ethan Jones on guitar (Sad Allen and his self-titled work), Jesse Gonzalez on the skins (Frequent Feedback, Violet Theory), the legendary Jack Hamilton on bass (Adult Superstition, Dante’s Room), and Mr. Adam Whitty beautifully holding the glue together on vocals and supporting guitar.

All in all, the group kicks ass. Coming hot off the press with new singles like, Henry, Vicki Too, and Talk About It Later, this band is primed for energetic live shows, blending enjoyable covers with originals that audiences are already singing along to. Safe to say these fellas have a long and bright road ahead of them.

Now, I’ve been covering the local music scene for about five years now, but I still get shy as heck waddling myself up toward the stage to take pictures. I was delighted to run into the homies from Elevator Days, who were hanging out in the green room right before their set and reassured me that I’m more than welcome to hop on stage to snap some pics during their set.

And friends, what a set it was.

Elevator Days are a group that has conquered the Texas scene over the past year or so. They sold out White Oak last year and have been drawing huge crowds to Houston’s most reputable venues. You know when you see this band on the bill, you’re in for a great show. This one in particular was special for the band as they welcomed new bassist Evan Loftin to the group.

Seeing the big crowd (somehow bigger than it was when I had walked in), you’d think Evan would be nervous for his first show with the band. But this ain’t his first rodeo. Having played with bands like The Backroom Rumours and Hazy Sky, Evan is well-versed in big crowds, and he blended into the band with absolute ease and awesomeness.

Much like Junkyard Cat, ED blends well-fitting covers and originals into their sets, allowing the band to put their inspirations and style on full display. The energy, now at an all-time high, helped set the stage for The 4411 to come in and tie a bow on an incredible night.

Quick appreciation blurb for the patio upstairs at White Oak: A place that defines community and good times. After Elevator Days’ set, it was time to get some air, chat it up with some folks, and possibly work on my comedy bit with the locals. Somehow, Elevator Days, who had literally just finished their set a minute ago, were already hanging out.

I stumbled into a conversation about how MGMT might actually be the best band of the 21st century, which somehow evolved into a debate over whether Salad Days or This Old Dog was Mac DeMarco’s magnum opus. (I chirped in with the fun fact that the band Tame Impala is actually just one man named Kevin Parker… again, still working on the bit.)

After dropping my SD card in my tequila and soda and fearing I’d lost all the photos I had from the night so far, I tossed it into my handy-dandy-emergency bag of rice and ran inside to catch The 4411’s set. With the night’s theme of good vibes, ATX-based The 4411 were the cherry on top.

Smack dab in the middle of their “Burn Away Tour,” the band was primed for a great show. Mixing full-on bangers with electro-acoustic jams, they delivered on all fronts. Unfamiliar with them prior to hearing about the show, I decided to check out their catalog. I was blown away by their debut EP We Killed the Sun and their April single “Honey, What Is Your Name?” I was stoked.

As I had hoped, all of these jams translated incredibly well to the stage. I truly anticipate seeing these fellas back in town sooner rather than later. Nonetheless, I look forward to jamming out to their new song, “Burn Away,” out July 4!

Safe to say it was a fun night with the 4411. I capped it off with a few mezcal margaritas and a steak quesadilla from Cantina Barba down the road with some of the Junkyard Cat boys. A few pretty ladies that were fighting over Jack Hamilton’s hand in marriage. However, he left alone to watch over the City of Houston as she slept through the night.

I called in to work the next day.

Sorry, Corporate America.

Cheers,

Brandon Smith