Review: Green on the Scene

By Gabrielle Marshall

This week was filled with all the bells and whistles that a solitary hectic week could possibly contain. Starting off the week right proved to be a precious commodity. This past Monday, live music was done right by the ever personable Anthony Green. With music containing a precocious blend of folk, hardcore, blues, and alternative, his music can be appreciated by the many. Performing at the Clubhouse Music Venue, Anthony brought his vibrant personality (and music) straight into the Tempe city limits. Opening for Green was the ever melodic and pensive-thought inspiring Dear Hunter. Setting a more somber tone with his music (it was part lost in sad thoughts/somebody hold me music: part angry ferocious alt-prog deliciousness), The Dear Hunter had so much energy and musicality that the reverb created by the venue’s small amount of area seemed to seep into every pore. Perhaps the fact that I was positioned directly adjacent to the speaker could have played a role in this as well… Regardless his impressive performance left the respectably sized crowd appreciative and clapping enthusiastically.
A mere 20 min later, the boisterous Anthony Green strolled out to take a stab at it. Opening with one of his older tracks “She Loves Me So”, and then transitioning the entire night between his Avalon album and his newest release Beautiful Things, there was an infectious mix of the old and the new. His backing band pretty much blew my mind. Their musicianship was unparalleled. From the ecstatic ferociousness of the drummer, to the killer guitar solos hailing from the left part of the stage, the wave of sound propelling itself from the stage was steeped in hype. Hype to galvanize the crowd of course. Pair that with Green’s high vocal range/ throaty yells and pleasant demeanor, the crowd was completely enthralled. Shouts of “Take your clothes off!” were common place, as well as clamoring for songs like Saosin’s “Seven Years” and “The Devil’s Song ”. Green of course appeased all requests in due time (except for the nudity, which was a disappointment for many of the Green Groupies out in force I’m sure). Creating a terrific rapport with the crowd was an easy feat for Green, and mixing it with good music made for an awesome show. Encore included, Green played most songs from his catalog that the eager fans yearned for. Not to mention that proceeds from the show (and from a shout out for donations from Green himself) would support Keep-a-Breast.org. Charity is always a good thing in my book. Green’s show definitely proved his strength as a musician to a novice music blogger as myself, and it will be interesting to see what his next ambitious musical evolution will be.

Anthony Green is currently on a tour of the U.S. For a list of upcoming tour dates check here.