Southwest Songslingers Flourish at Bottom on Friday Night
Written by Joseph Hayes
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Phoenix-based Kinch and Dear and the Headlights followed suit with their own breed of twangy pop, but with slightly harder hitting rhythm sections, mixing in well-crafted, simmering ballads which slowly erupted by song's end. Each band noticeably raised the bar as far as performance and collective musicianship were concerned.
While the crowd was heavily anticipating the headliner, Kinch seemed to win them over by the end of their set by laying everything they had on the stage in the most sincere and dorky manner possible. It's refreshing to see a band on tour who visibly eschew the trappings of faux rock star egomania. And spearheading the charm is Andrew Junker, alternating between guitar and piano, looking like the lovechild of Harry Potter and Seth Rogen, and possessing enough charisma to conceivably score Kinch a label deal following their SXSW showcase in few weeks.
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