The Preatures at The Independent – A Concert Review

      “How can we miss an opportunity to see The Preatures perform live?” That was the response to the often asked question “How can you miss an opportunity to see the Giants win the 7^th game of the World Series?”

     Admittedly, there was a temptation to bypass the concert in San Francisco in order to watch the local team battle a very good team in Kansas City. At the end of the evening, we were very pleased that the temptation was resisted. Among the highlights were (1) a strong opening act by Liverpool’s Circa Waves, (2) a rousing performance of The Preatures’ “Is This How You Feel?” and (3) a wardrobe malfunction.

     The performance by The Preatures began with “Blue Planet Eyes,” the title track from the band’s recently released album. The four male members of the band climbed the couple of steps to the stage, grabbed their instruments, and started the slow simmer that characterizes the start of the song. The current trend is for bands to begin their setlist with a high energy, “we have arrived” song. The Preatures did not follow that trend. Instead, the arrival excitement was generated by the sequence of the three appearances – band members emerging to signal the start, instruments kicking in as the actual beginning, and then the charismatic Isabella Manfredi joining by walking to the microphone to set everything in motion. It worked well for The Preatures.

     The Preatures setlist from last night is pictured in this post. They performed the twelve songs without requiring the audience to wait through a pause before an encore. That’s always appreciated. The predictable feature of the setlist was that the final song would be “Is This How You Feel?” It would be difficult for any band to follow the performance energy created during that song.

The Preatures - the setlist

      The wardrobe malfunction? Well, keep in mind that The Preatures are from Australia. So, it was an honest mistake when Isabella asked a patron if she could wear his cap as a tribute to the World Champion SF Giants. The patron agreed, but failed to mention that it was a vintage Milwaukee Brewers’ cap. No harm done – a couple of Giant caps were quickly thrown onto the stage and they were passed around among the band members. In addition to Isabella Manfredi (vocals and keyboards), the members of The Preatures are Gideon Bensen (guitar and vocals), Jack Moffitt (guitar), Thomas Champion (bass) and Luke Davison (drums). 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePreatures

Website: http://www.thepreatures.com/

Circa Waves

     Circa Waves started the evening rolling. This band from Liverpool doesn’t finesse their music; it’s more of a frontal assault. Last night, it was what the San Francisco atmosphere needed and the concert-goers responded. The members are Kieran Shudall (vocals and guitar), Sam Rourke (bass), Sian Plummer (drums) and Joe Falconer (guitar).

Circa Waves - The setlist

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CircaWaves

Website: http://circawaves.com/home/

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Additional pictures from The Preatures 

The rejected Brewers cap