Featured Performers: Sixpence None the Richer, The Castros, Heather Evans

In what may be the most impulse decision yet to cover a show, I found myself at a small club in the Columbus surrounded town of Grandview Heights watching a band I had last heard consistently about ten years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I knew all along that there is more to Sixpence than their 3 top 40 hits. As an avid follower of the Christian alternative scene I knew that front-woman Leigh Nash was up to plenty. I just never got around to checking it out. Until now, that is.

Rising local artist Heather Evans opened the show with plenty of cuts from our recently reviewed Out of the Woods, including “The Kite Song”, “20 Years From Now,” “Safe Tonight” and the title track. Heather exuded humility and genuine gratitude at being able to open for a band she admitted to listening to since middle school. She was assisted onstage by her friends Macy McPeek and Jason Turner on backup vocals and acoustic guitar. Themes serious (human trafficking in “Safe Tonight”) and more heartwarming (life with her husband “20 Years From Now”) were discussed and all took it in well.

Husband/wife duo The Castros along with their friend Seth Ellsworth led the audience in more folk-driven tunes, mostly of the more lighthearted variety. They addressed topics ranging from pumpkin pie, the joys of living in Columbus, and the book and movie Blue Like Jazz. They even threw in a cover of “Billie Jean,” which has become a standard in their set. Again, this duo consistently exuded gratitude and genuine humility.

Sixpence played as a four-piece, bringing a cool indie-alternative vibe to the room in way that was simply full of class. To get this out of the way – Yes, they played “Kiss Me” and “There She Goes.” No, they did not play “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” Yes, both hits sounded good live. But, (I can’t emphasize this enough) the band truly shined in their newer, alternative material. My friend Marco at one point remarked at how adept Matt Slocum was on guitar, crafting almost post-rock like riffs. “Sooner Than Later” was a highlight, as was their encore, the more mellow than usual “Tension.” As I said before, this is a band that is simply classy; Leigh Nash looked elegant, and her band-mates performed well and with humility (sense a theme?). The show wasn’t without a bit of feisty attitude from Nash – upon hearing a shout of “Freebird!” from the audience she exclaimed “Screw you! This is 2012, you’re not supposed to say that anymore” with a smirk. While it is a shame that Sixpence’s newer material (such as the recently released Lost in Transition) isn’t getting more recognition, the mood was perfect for the setting the music was performed in.

Credit to the below photo gallery goes to Columbus based Rebekah King. Many thanks to her for allowing her work to be shared on this site! Please do not copy/redistribute without permission.