While snow filled the open sky on the setting Seattle skyline, it wasn’t the only thing in the air that night. Ever-present was the palpable feeling of a Seattle community coming together to support Youth Care and eat, drink and dance the night away at Neumos Thursday night. Balcony Bridge-Benefit Concert for Youth Care organized by the headliner’s podcaster, producer and guitarist Sean Moran, featured two other local Seattle Bands: Waxer, and the one and only Magenta Wave.
As Neumos filled for the show, local staple Ezell’s Famous Chicken catered to concert-goers. Ezell’s very quickly set the communal and welcoming tone for the night, matching what Waxer’s Guitarist and Singer Cuinn Fey and Moran shared with me.
“Thursday was cool because you know, I had the community aspect of it. It was a fundraiser and also there was Ezell’s chicken there which is awesome. Certain things like that multifacetedness make it more comfortable immediately,” Fey said.
Moran echoed Fey’s sentiment, expressing the importance of togetherness at events.
“I do believe the core pillar of bringing people together and creating that sense of shared love and community is food, dance, and music,” Moran said.
The benefit was organized to raise funds for Youth Care, described by their website as “a Seattle based non-profit providing resources for the homeless.” I spoke with Moran on the topic, asking for his perspective on the process behind it.
“They reached out with some dates and we got this February date and I’m like let’s do it again, let’s do another benefit concert. So this time I decided to go with Youth Care because I felt like Youth Care was much more localized to Seattle specifically,” Moran said.
Raffles were a major part of the night, with each segue between sets by local artist JUL!ET a new chance to win sick prize packages from Neumos. Prizes ranged from merch packages to monthly free Neumos concert tickets and a hand-sewn astronaut, with all the proceeds going to Youth Care and their initiative.
First up on the setlist was the amazing Waxer, a local underground band established in 2018, made up of Cuinn Fey playing guitar with vocals, Peter Holmes on the drums, Anthony Whitfield on the bass and Pete Stoessel on the guitar. The band originated out of the UW house scene, emphasizing the community feeling of the occasion.
“It’s an honor and you know, I consider Neumos a kind of legendary Seattle venue. So just a personal bucket list that was super cool,” Fey said.
Waxer effortlessly flowed through the first set of the night with warm indie rock and jazzy undertones. They brought a honed and complex sound to a familiar soundscape that I thoroughly enjoyed. Waxer has a film releasing at the SIFF on March 20th.
Following suit, Bellingham’s Magenta Wave took the stage. This gem of a band is composed of guitarist and Joshua Harmon-esque singer Grayson Thompson, Taylor Mastin on guitar, Nathaniel McCurley on bass and Kellen Larsen on the drums. They brought together a heart-wrenching yet endlessly genuine and energetic performance—an experience that can’t quite be faked—their hard work and exchange of energy shined through every note. I caught up with Magenta’s McCurley, asking what the preparation and their feelings were like leading up to their killer performance.
“Dude, it was awesome. It was our first time playing on a bigger stage in Seattle like that. And we’ve been working really hard, we’ve been doing a big recording and writing phase. So we have a lot of new material right now that we feel definitely reflects our time in the garage just working on our songwriting and our depth and dynamism as musicians. So it felt like an opportunity that we were excited to take and also ready to take,” McCurley said.
On the bill for Magenta Wave: a Seattle tour being announced soon, alongside a new EP from the band.
.Finally, headlining the night was the local park king’s Balcony Bridge on the big stage. Balcony Bridge is made up of Julian Pearlman on guitar, Moran on guitar, Jacob Longhurst on bass and Jack Moran on drums. The band gathered the energy of the night and dialed it up. The clashing drums and guitar coupled with Pearlman’s stunning vocals made for a night that ranged between angelic soothing riffs to high-pitched piercing, extended high notes that combined for a flawless set. One that only got better as the band progressed.
Up next for Balcony Bridge, the band might be taking a mindful approach to their shows and music.
“We really wanna try to move people with the power of Julian’s singing voice as opposed to being so in your face, super excited to tap into something more sensitive,” Moran said. “ The plan is less shows, we want to place more emphasis and importance on [them],” he added, hoping to take a quality over quantity approach moving forward.
The benefit was a memorable night, headlined by talented bands for a great cause and fueled by an even greater growth of a special community on the rise.
