La Sera @ The Great Scott

Great energy, great hair. We loved seeing La Sera last week at Great Scott.

Boy, do we love local artist. Tom Freeman, front man of Berklee-based indie band Covey,opened the late night at Great Scott and got the good vibes rolling in the dimly lit bar. His enchanting vocals, that immediately reminded us of an alt fave of ours Matt Corby, mixed with the hauntingly empty sound similar to Daughter pulled almost everyone away from the StanleyCup Playoff game on the television and towards the stage. British-born Freeman stood solo with a guitar on stage, which is strange considering the band is a 5-piece (the name Covey literally means “a flock of birds,” or in their case musically talented birds), but that didn’t stop Freeman from filling not only the stage area with his natural vocals, but the entire room. Opening for other artist, such as The Last Bison, High As A Kit, Gabriel Kahane, and Hozier, don’t be caught off guard next time you’re at a concert in Boston and this talented artist takes the stage. Check out Covey now and make sure you’re in the loop on this band.

The day LA-based band La Sera came to town is the first day Boston has seen the sun in over a week. Coincidence? I think not. Katy Goodman (of Vivian Girls) proved that not all indie-rock bands sound the same live; the gig perfectly showcased her talent as a musician and a songwriter. Opening with two bops, “Break My Heart” and “Running Wild,” the loud rip of the guitars got the attention of everyone from the bar to outside on the sidewalk. It was refreshing to hear a band coming out of LA that drew inspiration from original rock sounds, and not just synthed up melodies. Her honey-like vocals, rocking bass lines, and soft pop punk sound along with her songs about love and heartache are well crafted and not your stereotypical woe-is- me love songs. Katy, along with her rock solid band members engaged with each other and the crowd often, keeping the house energized throughout the night. Guitarist Tod Wisenbaker wasn’t just comic relief, although his humor was perfectly dry, his crazy guitar skills stole the show and added an element to the performance that really brought it to a new level. Ending such a rock heavy set with “Summer of Love”, a song drawing on themes of surf rock, may have been the only downside to this otherwise high energy show. Even doing justice to Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” They played songs from 2012’s album “See The Light,” 2014’s “Hour of the Dawn,” and this year’s “Music For Listening To Music To.”