the new limb

Day 6: Lauren on Nightmare and the Cat

Writing about a specific band/musician/song that has inspired you is difficult for any musician. So I’ve therefore decided to write about my most recent inspiration. 

For maybe the first time ever, a local band has blown me away, and inspired me to be a better musician. I’m pretty picky when it comes to local music, and I haven’t found a whole lot that I’m in love with. But this band transported me out of the tiny club and completely stole my attention for their entire set. 

Last Saturday night I had the opportunity to watch “Nightmare and the Cat” at our residency show at Three Clubs.  

LISTEN // NIGHTMARE AND THE CAT (I recommend listening to “Sarah Beth” first.)

I knew I was going to like them before they began. I spoke to the lead singer Django for a bit before the show began.  He’s super cool, has great style, and is nice in the most genuine way.

When their set began I took a seat facing center stage. I don’t usually get to watch the other bands at our shows because we get caught up packing our gear and talking to friends that came to see us. I wanted to make sure I saw them perform though.

And so the show began.

I wanted to dance, sing along, and clap my hands, but I found it difficult to move. I didn’t want to miss anything. I sat in the same spot the entire set, my eyes never leaving the stage, and my mouth shut. Although I had never heard them before, I felt like I knew their songs. I felt like I’d known their songs for a long time but only heard them in my head. Every melody felt so right. Every rhythm was perfect. Every harmony was exactly what it should be. This band was playing the songs I’ve been wanting to hear! I know that may be a strange way of describing their music, and in no way communicates to you what they sound like. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to communicate that. But that’s not the point of this anyway. The point is that this band is inspiring. I’ve never left one of our own shows feeling like I needed to write so many new songs. I’ve never left most shows in general feeling that way. Not because it made me feel like my songs weren’t good, but because their was so much soul in each of their songs it made me feel that I was capable of doing the same in my music, and that I maybe hadn’t completely done that yet. I now felt like I was capable of expressing that kind of emotion.  That I was capable of making the music I hear in my head.  Like I said in my last blog post, I tend to me too logical and simple- which often times restricts me from trying to imitate the music I hear in my head.  Often times I just try to make music I think people will like. But I have so much music in my head! 

So, their songs are great. But not only that, they’re great musicians. Django has incredible voice. I had just played on the same stage- there are no monitors- you can’t hear yourself sing at all. It didn’t effect his performance at all. And he can dance. There was nothing forced about his performance.

And on top of THAT, they’re all sweethearts. They’re genuine. And they have soul.

You’ve got to see them live. Until then you should buy their album. 

Here’s some YouTube’s of a performance at Hotel Cafe. The sound quality isn’t great, but it’s the best I could find. Hopefully they’ll have video of their show at Three Clubs up soon. 

“Sarah Beth”
“Desert Heir”
“Special”
“Chart Topper”
“The Missing Year”