REVIEW: Wednesday is a Perfect Night For Rock Music
WRITTEN BY ADDIE WILLIAMS
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Photo by @irenicimages
Glancing around Buffalo’s Iron Works before the show began, I saw chatty friend groups and couples outfitted in jeans, overalls, and baggy t-shirts, mirroring the venue; posters of bands plastered the well-worn brick walls, garage doors were lifted up for entrances, and the space was dimly lit, creating a casual ambiance that matched the crowd. Rather than being a stressful show with fans numbering hands in lines and pushing and shoving each other up to the barricade, an oh-so familiar concert experience in recent years, this crowd was here to simply listen to some good music and let loose on a Wednesday evening. There were no phones in sight at Iron Works, only good conversation.
As the warm lighting dimmed to neon blue lights, fans drew closer to the stage. The Salt Lake City-based indie rock band Cardinal Bloom strolled on stage and jumped right into “12:30,” a vulnerable song about the struggle to find yourself and feeling stuck. The opening riff rang out, giving fans chills from hearing that classic Cardinal Bloom guitar sound for the first time live in Buffalo, New York. When speaking to the band after the show, lead guitarist Josh Thomas explained that “12:30” was a long process to create, as they shelved the song. “We didn’t touch it for a year. We were scared of it and almost didn’t release it, which is funny as it’s a top three song for us now.”
From here, Cardinal Bloom flowed right into “So Sweet,” a catchy song filled with guitar solos. I asked the band about what songs they would want new listeners to hear first, and “So Sweet” was one of their picks. Bassist Levi Wunderlich describes the tune: “It’s all around good indie rock with some pop influence, very Cage the Elephant inspired or Young the Giant sort of vain.” Finishing the song, the band introduced themselves to Iron Works and went into their third song of the night, “Waste Your Time.” This one was a total crowd favorite; as I looked around the room, everyone was singing along to the catchy chorus.
Cardinal Bloom followed by announcing their next song. “Burn the House” is a new song they have been working on, and the crowd was eager to hear the unreleased music. “Burn the House” has unique verses and a vulnerable chorus, flowing between one another thanks to a catchy prechorus repeating the lyric “Do you wanna dance?” The ending of “Burn the House” is beautiful chaos: the song slows down, then builds back up again to a moment where lead singer Joey St. John’s cathartic vocals spread chills across the venue. Not only can you tell Joey is having a great time singing this song, but drummer Nate Adair loves to play this one, too. Nate shares why he finds “Burn the House” to be one of the most fun songs to play live. “I think each section has a really strong vibe and I feel like that is something that can be really hard to achieve, even in a live setting, but right now I feel like we’re firing in all cylinders so as we hit each section of the song it feels like all of the emotions are happening which makes it really fun to play as you feel connected to your bandmates.” The band then played “To Love Someone,” whose delicate intro quieted the room right down, and the boom of guitar and drums at the chorus had everyone bobbing their heads.
Next on the setlist was “Melatonin.” The song, releasing next month, has bursts of energy throughout thanks to the exciting guitar and drums. Songwriting and new ideas have been flowing for Cardinal Bloom lately and it was certainly apparent in their performance. Josh Thomas shared, “As you write, you don’t know how you are going to write the next songs, but all of a sudden you start working on new music. Especially with the last two songs we’ve made, we’ve been having a really fun time coming up with cool ideas and workshopping them, trying to get things to fit in place.”
After Melatonin ended, Cardinal Bloom played “Lately,” which was my personal favorite of the night. The lyrics were raw and vulnerable, and fans were swaying back and forth to the beat. I typically do not love the slower songs at concerts, but “Lately” changed my stance on this as it allowed me to really listen to their beautiful lyricism.
Two Cardinal Bloom classics followed, amping the energy back up with “She’s Just a Friend” and “Nothing Stays the Same.” The two songs flowed between one another with a guitar solo, though not without careful planning. “We don’t want our set to sound like a playlist,” Nate Adair explains, “So we take a long time in rehearsal beforehand to figure out how the songs will flow; it’s a big consideration of ours when choosing the setlist.” Joey St. John introduced “She’s Just a Friend” by saying that it is about driving down a highway to their hometown of Salt Lake City. The band and I further discussed how their hit song came about and the collaborative nature of the band more holistically during our interview. Thomas and Adair explain how St. John sent them over a voice memo of the main riff and that he was concerned that it was in an odd time signature, asking if he should change it. They all agreed to keep the riff as it is, as they thought the change would kill the vibe of the song. Even today, they all play the song with different ways of counting the beat for the song in their heads.
Before closing out their set with their 2022 single “Under the Oak Tree,” an upbeat tune that left everyone dancing and the band jamming out, St. John encapsulated the evening perfectly by saying “Wednesday is the perfect night for a rock concert,” and that it was. Cardinal Bloom’s upbeat rock music with raw lyrics is incredible, but it is the community they work to build that sets the band apart. After the show, the band stuck around to give out free stickers, meet fans, and sign vinyls. They send out postcards and handwritten song lyrics to fans all across the country (one postcard is hanging up on my bedroom wall as I am writing this) as a way to connect with listeners. These little interactions have created a steadfast fanbase, and this is thanks to the hard work and time the band members have dedicated to creating a community. For the postcards, they have spent hours upon hours formatting addresses and the lyrics. While a creative idea, it couldn’t have been an easy task. After writing sixty pages of lyrics, Adair laughs, “My arm was sore - I felt like I was in the fifth Harry Potter where he has to keep on writing.” Thomas chimes in, “I’ve finished pens faster than I finish the milk in my fridge.” Collectively, they estimate that the postcards and lyrics have taken close to forty hours to write. This was after the time that they offered to send them out, when they had about 160 fans sign up to receive a postcard. Adair shared that they just offered another round of postcards and lyrics, and now have around 330 fans signed up, so there will be many more pens and college-ruled notebooks finished in the near future.
The community that the band is cultivating is growing every show, opening for Arts Fishing Club on tour. Watching them perform, you can instantly tell that the band has true friendships with one another and a love for music. The smiles on their faces and the emotion they play with underscore this, and it does not go unnoticed by those of us watching in the crowd. Off stage, going out to meet people by the merch stand, the audience is able to meet the band and feel a part of the special community Cardinal Bloom is creating. Their new music coming out soon will surely be a must-listen, but for now, be sure to listen to the band’s recommendations for first-time listeners: “She’s Just a Friend,” “Lovely,” “The Porch,” and “So Sweet.” Be sure to catch them on tour and follow their social media to stay in the loop about all of the exciting things coming up for Cardinal Bloom.