WINTER
I can’t think of a better opener for Tanukichan. The guitars swelled, the drums locked in,
and the singer, Samira Winter, showed up ready to put on a show wearing the coolest outfit in
the room. The long coat, dragonfly necklace, flower guitar, and sunglasses worked so well for
the occasion that is a shoegaze concert. With a venue like 7th Street Entry, it is to be expected
that technical elements will be kept to a minimum; the lights remained blue throughout and the
sound was mixed in a way that remained static for the entirety of the set. It is important to
acknowledge that technical elements shouldn’t make or break a performance, and in Winter’s
case, this was true.
Shoegaze is not the most upbeat of genres, though the band kept my attention the entire
time. Starting off the set with some of their most popular songs, watching “Sunday'' played live
was particularly enjoyable. Some may say ethereal or wondrous even. I could review that song
and its performance alone, so knowing it was only the beginning of the set excited me. With
intentional moments of Samira feeding her guitar back into the amp, the songs that followed
were noisy and droning; exactly what you’d expect from a shoegaze show.
So many moments stood out to me with this band, they seemed to be enjoying
themselves as much as the rest of the audience. They danced, swayed, and laughed together
through the entire set, making the performance from them just that much stronger.

TANUKICHAN
This was the sixth show for Tanukichan’s “Gizmo” tour. They are well known for their
debut release, “Sundays,” which was produced by Chaz Bear of Toro Y Moi.
As mentioned prior, Winter was a great choice of an opener, for Tanukichan maintained a
similar tone only slightly faster and more upbeat. Although not as lively of performers in
comparison to their opener, hearing live versions of songs I’ve listened to for years was quite
remarkable.
As the audience became more and more engaged, the band got increasingly more
confident, feeling the music rather than simply playing the notes. It was impressive to watch the
band seemingly almost fully take form right in front of my eyes, like a flower blooming. While
quite lovely from the beginning, it can be quite beautiful in the end regardless of how many
times you’ve seen it. Many musicians tend to fall into the routine of being onstage - so much so
that they tend to forget to perform. Watching a band only play the notes gets a little frustrating
after the second or third time of it happening, so I, and the rest of the audience, is thankful that
Tanukichan did not fall into this pattern.
With the lighting staying on blue for the entire show, there wasn’t much for Tanukichan to
lean back on besides each other. No matter how many times you do it, getting on a stage will
always be nerve wracking for some. Whether it was nerve wracking for Tanukichan or not, it was
nice watching them strike a guitar solo out of nowhere or all stop at the exact same time
amongst the wall of sound they had been producing, only to come back in all at the same time.
Prior to the concert starting, my friends and I discussed a study about shoegaze that
discovered listening to the genre sparks feelings in its viewers that others spend a lifetime chasing -- receiving a much needed, warm, comforting hug. With that in mind, thanks for the hug, Tanukichan.

-Jaren Cable