Strawberry Girls at Sunset Tavern
With a band name like The Seafloor Cinema and song titles like “Geese Attack!!!” and “Take Drugs! Kill a Bear!” it’s hard to know what underwater theater show you’re walking into with this band. A few days after the one-year anniversary of their self-titled album was released, The Seafloor Cinema opened the stage at The Sunset Tavern. With what felt like influences from artists like Coheed & Cambria and Saosin, their style felt like a fun mix of pop punk, emo, and a healthy dose of the main act’s bread and butter, prog rock. The Seafloor Cinema is made up of guitarist Anthony OnFire, vocalist/bassist Justin Murry, guitarist Seth Lawrenson, and drummer Timothy Aldama.
With their music also described as turbo emo, I can’t help but mention how much fun the band’s stage presence was. Murry spent plenty of time bouncing around on stage and really giving the front row a show with some great vocals power stance over the front monitors. Aldama‘s long blue hair flipping back and forth between the emo-focused drum grooves was a show in its own. Check the photos for the action shot.
Shoutout to their recreation of the scene from The Office’s finger-gun Standoff scene. Personally, I’m all in when a band starts their song with “This is a song about a cat”. We didn’t get too much in terms of introductions and conversations between songs, but that’s not what this audience is here for.
Strawberry Girls is at its core a group of 3 guys playing amazing instrumental post-hardcore progressive rock. While you’ll find some songs on their discography that include guest vocals like “Party Nights” and “Mini Ripper”, the band itself doesn’t have a singer themselves, but there’s no shortage of attention-grabbing complicated guitar solos from ex-Dance Gavin Dance member Zachary Garren. Speed drumming in the back was Ben Rosett, former of The Trees, and commanding stage right on bass was another former member of The Trees, Ian Jennings.
Strawberry Girls’ whole set really felt like a high-end listening room experience. The crowd was attentive, respectful, but still very into what was happening on stage. Glancing around the room you’d notice that most people were still getting in their personal space headbanging during every song. One minor issue arose in the act with a power cable false starting a song once or twice, but the crowd was supportive as well as entertained. As Garren mentions there are two songs left, the crowd shouts that they want four more. Garren quips back that the two songs are basically long enough to be four, and they’re some of his favorites to play.
If Godzilla needs another fight song, my vote goes to the Strawberry Girls. The second to last song had me feeling like Godzilla had just been taken down by Gamera, but the camera cuts to Godzilla and its eyes open with anger that only the godliest lizard can emanate as it gets up and you’re completely aware the two are about to take the battle to its most epic back-and-forth yet. If they’re looking for a theater, Seafloor Cinema might just have them covered. Strawberry Girls hops off stage and immediately snaps selfies with audience members as they make their way straight to their merch booth right next to Seafloor Cinema doing the exact same thing. Seeing artists spend time with their fans after shows always warms my heart.