Mr. Gnome Review 12/9/11
By Root Chakra
Wednesday night Mr. Gnome played at Lola’s Saloon in Fort Worth. Denton band Voltrevolt opened up the show around 9. Voltrevolt is a folk rock band with americana roots. They clearly enjoy harmonizing, and comparisons to early Avett Brothers can be drawn. Their folk-country-rock was perfect for a night out in Fort Worth, but a little strange as an opener for Mr. Gnome. The Baker Family played next, originally from North Carolina, now living in Austin. They brought rice crispy treats for the fans and had a baby carriage holding their merch. Something you don’t see too often. They played loud, moody, head-nod inducing music. The Baker Family are worthy of checking out in a live setting for sure, they bring fierce energy to their live performance, and Liz (Mrs. Baker) wears a panda mask, so it’s good all around.
The room was filled with Mr. Gnome fans by the time they went on around 11. Mr. Gnome is being dubbed as the best thing coming out of Cleveland Ohio right now. Their new album, and third release, “Madness in Miniature” has a fresh sound that’s not easily classified, but has been called art-rock, prog-rock, or garage-rock. Pretty much it rocks, and sounded even better live. It’s surprising how much noise can come out of two people with only a guitar and drum set. Nicole’s vocals go from a throaty whisper to a full on roar in seconds and always full of their signature reverb. Sam’s drumming is insane and keeps the momentum and pace of the songs going. The first half of their set was devoted to older material from previous albums and they spent the last half of the set covering all the top picks from the new album, including “Ate the Sun,” “House of Circles,” and “Bit of Tongue.” It was a satisfying night of rock music with loudness that kept ears ringing well into the next day. It was the fans that kept insisting they “turn it up” and Mr. Gnome obeyed.