There was enough synth, reverb and effects-induced haze in The End Friday night to cloud the glasses of any camera-toting hipster in the venue. I was only able to catch the first half of a lineup that included Nashville’s Calvin, Vinyl Thief and The Pursuits, as well as Birmingham’s To Light a Fire, but I was there long enough to witness two of the local acts pay homage to the spacey, key-stroking alt-rockers who’ve paved the way before them.

Calvin’s sound possessed all the brio of indie pop, even as it wandered into dark, synthy corners to brood. Guitar pick in mouth, bearded frontman Cory Johnson pelted out bell-like synth melodies when he wasn’t on the guitar, with the occasional ghostly Radiohead-like wail from keyboardist Kurt Whitehill  and prolonged, instrumental fog to finish a song. Though each instrument’s part was highly individualized and meticulous, the band still had an impressive unity as they put the audience in a melodic trance which was promptly shattered by the gyrations and gusto of Vinyl Thief’s ginger-haired frontman Grayson Proctor.

Dressed like a hipster Sherlock Holmes, Proctor moved tirelessly around the stage, his grandiose, stadium vocal style, reminiscent of Bono, projecting across the room to the delight of a particular group of dancing showgoers. Just for the sake of trying something new, the vocalist announced that their seven-song set would be played as one continuous song, which included a cover of Gorillaz’s “Kids with Guns” amidst the pound of a kick drum. It’s rare to see a small band make such use of the stage with confidence, but Vinyl Thief held little back, working their way around a clutter of keys and drums as they textured rock, pop, dance and just plain noise with sometimes not so much finesse, but enough exuberance and stage presence to compensate. – Jessica Pace

You know that feeling you get when you’ve gradually gained 10-15 pounds without realizing it, until the moment you wake up one morning and you think to yourself, “I gained 10 pounds overnight?!” Well that’s probably how Nashville is going to feel soon because local singer/songstress/darling, Tristen, seems to have gained quite a bit of music career momentum in recent months. In preparation for the release of her first full-length album on American Myth Recordings, Tristen has come up with a new band and a revamped set of already-impressive strong material. This was all too apparent last night when she opened for Montreal-based bands, Land of Talk, and SUUNS (pronounced “soons”) at The End.

Tristen started the night off right with an eight song set of her delectably catchy indie pop songs. Like retro-1950’s-throwback meets a lot of badass bitch and va-va-VOOM. Her voice had the growl of a more capable Wanda Jackson and the distinctness of Stevie Nicks. (But unlike Stevie Nicks of course or else it wouldn’t be distinct 😉 She exhibited a clarity in tone that is very rare, and also suggests a good deal of vocal control. (Not to get too technical and nerdy, but any singer who can sustain higher notes with a straight tone has a precious gift or they’ve worked their ass off to achieve that capability). The good times and tunes, paired with her witty banter in between songs was a true delight.

Several new songs were performed–two in particular that seemed to be INSTANT CLASSICS–which were called, “Ringer,” and “Queen.” And of course all the hits and crowd favorites were performed, including “Eager for Your Love,”–we may or may not have known all the words and sung along–along with “Matchstick Murder,” and a rousing finale of “Heart and Hope to Die” that left the audience kind of forgetting that she was only the opener. We’ll save the rest of our gushing until February 1, 2011, which is when er full length album, “Charlatans at The Garden Gate,” will be released. Until then, we suggest grabbing a copy of her new 7” “Eager For Your Love.” It’s a real appe-teaser 😉

Admittedly, we skipped outside for a little breather after all the singing and dancing during Tristen’s set, so we didn’t really hear much of SUUNS. They were probably great though, considering that they were the backing band for Elizabeth Powell aka Land of Talk. Once their set finally rolled around, it was pretty damn late, but the devoted fans were still packed around the stage, waiting to hear all the LOT favorites, such as, “Some Are Lakes,” “Yuppy Flu,” and, “It’s Okay.” The majority of their set was comprised of material from the more recent “Cloak and Cipher” album, with a couple numbers from their lesser-known EP, “Applause Cheer Boo Hiss.” Lizzie had extremely toned arms and such an honest, humble nature about her that her performance and singing were nothing less than captivating. We shuffled out of The End in a deliriously dreamy trance, satisfied with what we had seen.–Erin Manning