Sometimes you just go to a show and end up saying “my god, I needed that.”  By the time Sunday rolled around at Treefort, I was running on fumes.  And it was only my second day.  Either I’m getting old, out of music festival shape, or Boise’s electricity company runs on the vitality of visitors that it slowly siphons off from them.  There’s only so much coffee you can have before it becomes counterproductive, I don’t like energy drinks, so there are only so many options left.  When The Family Crest took to the Main Stage, I had enough sway in my gait and a thousand yard stare that would get me cast as an extra in The Walking Dead.

After 30 seconds of The Family Crest starting their set, I got a straight energy shot to the arm.  From the cello and violin strumming of Charly Akert and Owen Sutter on “Beneath the Brine” that could compete with any soundtrack for a Christmas-lit house, to Liam McCormick hitting some Justin Hawkins notes, I got an audioblast of awesome right away.

This Bay Area septet not only brought sartorial splendor to the stage (I wear a bowtie now; bowties are cool), but each was incredibly animated.  Whether it was Liam McCormick on vocals and guitar, John Seeterlin on bass, Charlie Giesige on drums, Laura Bergmann on flute, George Mousa Samaan, on trombone, Charly Akert on cello, or Owen Sutter on violin – it didn’t matter, each showed their love for their craft and their music through an expressive set.  The Family Crest brought the incredibly rich sound from their albums to the stage with a vitality and vibrance that hit like a gale-force wind allowed me to take a deep breath and say “now I can keep going.”

And I don’t think I was the only one, either.  The whole audience at the main stage perked up and got into it as well; the music and the crowd developed a symbiotic relationship where they could feed off of each other.  It was really amazing to behold, and band must have dug it as well since they vocally committed to their love of the city and that they would be back.  If so, I will be back to Boise as well, re-energized and ready to refill the Idaho Power life-force siphon.

Follow-up:  As I wrote this and was doing research on the band, I saw they are playing Saturday in Denver.  I mentioned it to my wife that it would be a fun show to see, which she asked: “Are you sure you want to see the band again in six days?”  Yeah, if they can muster a third of what they provided at Treefort, Denver is in for one epic and well-dressed ride.

Clay is a regular contributor and co-founder at Nanobot.  He lives in Denver, CO and is a husband, dad, constant rebuilder of toy trains, and has an unhealthy addiction to mandarin oranges