Knox Hamilton – Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ 5/26/15 (SHOW REVIEW)

It was a quiet Tuesday night after the Memorial holiday and Phoenix was starting to heat up not only due to the weather but because Knox Hamilton has made their way back to the Valley of the Sun.  They’ve come to Arizona before performing in the Pot of Gold festival back in March and the indie pop rock band has definitely taken their public awareness to new heights.  They have returned two months later to headliner at Crescent Ballroom, which has more of a laid-back atmosphere compared to the giant outdoor park they played last time.

The evening began with one of Arizona’s local artists Pageant who delivered magnificent vocal ranges within their set which made the start of the show a chill experience. The group mentioned how Knox Hamilton had traveled a long distance from Little Rock, Arkansas just to perform for fans which brought cheers to the audience.  The venue was intimately set with only a portion of the ballroom being used as it was divided in half by a back drop.  The seating included small table tops lit with candles along with bleachers which were enough seating to accommodate fans.  It made for a quaint and cozy setting for the show.

The dim lights softened when Knox Hamilton came on the stage and vocalist/bass guitarist Boots Copeland introduced the band stating “we might sound like Metallica compared to the other bands” which the artists tunes reflected more of an indie pop compared to heavy metal.   He urged the adult audience to ‘come up front or we will come to you’ and jumped into “Tom Joyce”.   Some of the audience started making their way to the stage while others sat comfortably chair dancing to the electric sounds.  Boots commented “Yeah, you’re a good crowd.  The coffee house just got loud!” which caused the fans to rave with excitement and loosen up changing the vibes to an upbeat dance scene.

The small crowd’s energy stayed high and joyful throughout, thanks in part to Boots interaction and comedic statements.   “If you want to follow us on social media we are popular on Myspace”.    The audience exchanged laughter throughout the crowd.  After “By No Mean” Boots introduced the band and mentioned the drummer, Cobo Copeland, was his little brother and jokingly mentioned that they have been known to get in fight mid set which again sent laughter throughout the audience.  Boots was told he could command a room and fans were chuckling throughout the entire show with agreement.  All aside, Knox Hamilton offers an undeniable knack for A level songwriting, with nostalgic hooks that border on both modern and the past.

The artists from Arkansas have a new EP coming out this year they played two of their new songs which had the audience swaying to their new indie pop beats.  This lead into their hit single “Work It Out” which everyone in the crowd sang along while they continued swaying to the beats.  Boots jokingly mentioned that they had fifteen more songs that were Garth Brooks cover songs and then went into their final song for the evening “Saturday Show” Even though there was no encore Knox Hamilton fans were very pleased with the set and the entertainment for the  evening.