Back in 2015, the St. Mary's Strip welcomed the Amp Room onto its bustling musical street amongst a few other new venues including Paper Tiger, a revamped Limelight, and Phantom Room (RIP, for now). Located in the former Bootleggers, the space has had a relatively eclectic musical offering ranging from darkwave and goth nights to neo soul and hard rock but come September, 30, Amp Room will be the home for the alt/prog/grunge lineup for this year’s San Antonio Music Showcase.
Combining funky ass bass grooves with post-hardcore in the vein of Circa Survive, Donella Drive might not be riding the bleeding edge of new music, but their high energy, care-free vibes, and stellar musicianship has been a model that that’s made them a favorite here in the SA music scene.
Also on the bill is Remanon who, dare I say, is arguably one of the best, if the not the best, prog-rock bands in all of Alamo City. For instance on the title track for their latest release Guardian, the four-piece pulls listeners up a mountain of technical drum breaks, peculiar guitar riffs that tip toe towards the edge of metal, and soaring vocal riffs that drop into a jazz fusion flute and saxophone solo. It’s fucking weird but oddly perfect and a bit reminiscent of bands like Mastodon.
Rounding out the lineup will be classic rockers Eden Burning, and Fulcrum lake whose sound lands somewhere in the active-rock arena and would sit appropriately next to bands like A Perfect Circle and Chevelle on a summer blockbuster soundtrack.
$5-$10, Saturday, September 30, Amp Room, 2407 N. St. Mary's St., (210) 320-2122, theamproom.com. For more information and to purchase wristbands, visit sanantoniomusicshowcase.com.
