High Fade
Portland House of Music

Michael Venn, contributor
 

Last night at Portland House of Music and Events, I experienced the band High Fade for the first time, and honestly… I left completely blown away.

 

I walked into the show only knowing what the other members of the Soundwaves crew had told me beforehand: “They’re high energy, and they’re from Scotland.” That turned out to be the understatement of the year. Well they are Scottish, and one of them did wear a kilt, so I suppose what they said was half true. But I definitely wasn’t prepared for the sonic barrage and musicianship that lay before me.

 

From the very first song until the final encore, the audience was fully locked in. Singing, dancing, and shouting lyrics back at the band, it was full audience engagement, and we willingly  followed every instruction thrown at us from the stage. Frontman and guitarist Harry Valentino had the crowd in the palm of his hand immediately, combining incredible guitar work and vocals with a sense of humor and gratefulness that made the whole night feel more like a giant party than a concert. The chemistry between the members of High Fade was unreal, these guys came across the pond to let us in on a not so well kept secret, they are one of the best live acts you can see, period. 

 

Bassist Oliver Sentence deserves special recognition not only for having one of the greatest mustaches currently in music, but for delivering some of the nastiest bass grooves I’ve heard in a long time. His playing sat right in that perfect pocket all night. And drummer Heath Campbell was absolutely flawless behind the kit!  Powerful, funky, technical, and impossibly tight. The grooves never let up for a second. This band really embodies the definition, power trio.

 

Musically, High Fade feels like what might’ve happened if Dave Grohl joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers as their frontman and second guitarist. Rock, funk, punk, metal, groove, chaos, jazz humor, sincerity and precision all smashed together into something completely their own.

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Songs like “Burnt Toast & Coffee,” “Gossip,” “666 999’,” “Fur Coat”, and even a cover of “Chameleon” by Herbie Hancock absolutely lit the room on fire. Every song somehow pushed the energy even higher, which honestly didn’t seem possible after the first twenty minutes.

 

High Fade even teased us with the intro riff to "Raining Blood" by Slayer. You know you’re at the right live show when a band does a cover of a song by a Jazz keyboard legend and also plays part of a song by a thrash metal behemoth. This band is all about performance and musicianship and not once did they ever let off the gas.  

 

The opening band “Canopy” from New Haven, CT also did a fantastic job setting the tone for the night and brought a ton of jam band rock tinged funk energy before High Fade completely detonated the room.

 

What impressed me most is that these guys are doing this independently, without the backing of a major label, and putting on a better live show than many major label arena acts I’ve seen.

 

If High Fade is coming anywhere near your city on this US tour, go see them. Make the drive. Buy the ticket. Support the band. They are hands down one of the best live acts I’ve seen in years, and I can guarantee you won’t leave disappointed.

Make sure to read our review of their latest album Twice As Nice as well as listen to their Guest Playlist Series spot here on Soundwaves.