Ever seen a room full of people who feel so much of the music that they literally cannot control their movements? Well, that was pretty much the scene that I witnessed when I went to catch Gomez on tour.

Having been a moderate fan of theirs I knew I'd at least enjoy the show, but I never expected to be surrounded by that many people having THAT good of a time. Sure, their music has a nice melody, but these guys know how to exploit those key guitar riffs and drum rhythms just enough to make your body move.

For five guys from England there was sure a wide array of instruments on that stage. Besides the nice selection of guitars that seemed to rotate with each song, there were a couple of keyboards, a melodica (it's like a miniature hand-held piano with a blow tube) and a kazoo. Next to the physical instruments were a few of the electronic nature, all of which were adorned with that ever popular fruit - the synthesizer effects came from the MacBooks and for a song a couple of the members used their iPhones to create some special effect sounds. Literally the first time I'd ever seen something like that. You wanna mix up your live performance some? Then take a note from Gomez.

All of the aforementioned just made the music that much more enjoyable. The set contained mostly numbers from their recent release A New Tide. They mixed their way in between songs that nearly caused moshing to songs that purely invoked a gentle swaying. With the changes in tempos, also sometimes came changes in lead vocals. Ian, Tom, and Ben each took turns on lead vocals, or were there to contribute to the harmonies, adding a flare to the set that isn't normally seen.

Stand out favorites included: "Natural Selection" which comes off the new album. In this one they've managed to make the guitar have a type of woodwind sound. The melancholy nature to the song makes it perfect for a pleasant stroll down a tree-lined path. Next would be "Airstream Driver" whose spunky tempo almost puts itself up there with the likes of The Flaming Lips and that's a great place to be. Probably the best parts of the song are actually in between the lyrics, when the guitar goes a little rockin' and there's a great mixture of percussion from other places than the typical drums. After a little over an hour later, the main set ended. But nobody's fooled; we all know there's an encore. And much to my excitement they decided to end the encore and show with my personal favorite "How We Operate." Since I discovered Gomez when I heard this song featured on the show Grey's Anatomy it was no surprise that I wasn't the only one who placed their favoritism on the number. Therefore, the crowd went crazy.

If I had to rate the show, I'd give it an A. Sure the band may still be sifting through genres to really figure out their sound. But regardless the performance they put on was top notch. They managed to take their semi-soft rock fused with indie music and make it so full of energy that most of that crowd was exhausted and/or covered in sweat.

-Rachel Fredrickson

Gomez
July 20th, 2009
Beaumont Club
Kansas City, MO

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