New all-ages venue opens to packed crowd

March 9, 2009 by Jordan Healy 

The Farm celebrated its grand opening with a rare hometown performance by pop-rockers The Higher last Saturday.The newest all-ages venue in town was packed with young fans, all of whom were eager to see a band that has spent much of the past year in hibernation while recording their newest album.

In a very rare occasion, the band did not disappoint.

Saturday night could have possibly been the strongest local show The Higher has had in their seven-year career. Normally, the group’s blend of pop, dance, and sometimes R&B doesn’t translate well into a live setting, but it finally worked. 

Vocalist Seth Trotter’s feminine singing voice cut through the air as hard dance beats flowed forth from Dough McCarthy’s drum set, swirling the crowd into an all-out dance party. 

In addition, the group dug deep into their back catalog and even performed a few tracks from their 2005 debut, “Histrionics,” from which the group normally refuses to perform any material. Saturday night was the night for Higher fans.

Even though The Higher did put on an unusually remarkable performance, Ashbury was the band that stole the show. The five-piece band boasted the fullest sound of the evening, which was due to the presence of no less than three guitarists onstage during several of their songs in their 30-minute set. Although the group has only been together for three short years, they played as though they had been touring for awhile.  

Co-opener Think showed high potential for being a solid band in the future, but they haven’t quite reached that point yet. There’s no doubt that these guys have musical chops, particularly guitarist Phillip Seaton and bassist Adam Knaff. The energy is also there, which was also very apparent when vocalist Brandon Knaff climbed into the rafters above the stage and flailed around before falling flat on what looked like some sort of guitar amp. 

The real problem is with the group’s overall sound. They sound like a band that would have done the music for a kid’s television show in the ‘90s. While they are somewhat tight musically, they can’t decide what sort of band they want to be. It’s fine to be eclectic, in fact it’s wonderful for bands to incorporate all sorts of different influences, but here’s a band who can’t do it seamlessly. 

The venue itself is situated comfortably and is reminiscent of Jillian’s. The Farm is several adjoining store fronts in a strip mall with each wall has been knocked out to create one giant space, meaning lots of room to stand without breathing down anyone’s neck. The staff is extremely helpful and friendly, and mostly transfers from Jillian’s. 

The only complaint that could be logged for this particular show was the sound system. It sounded like they were really trying to press an inadequate system to go as loud as it could. Other than that, it’s a wonderful place that should take up some of the business of the recently-closed Canvas Cafe.