 "Photo: Caitlin Brandon")
Thriving Ivory's debut album was number one on the Billboard Heatseeker's Chart, so it comes as no surprise that a large line of students formed in front of The Commons, anxiously waiting to see this local band perform Thursday night.
But before Thriving Ivory rocked the stage, another local band named Five A.M. appeared.
Never heard of them? It's likely that 90 percent of students didn't know who they were either because during their performance there were a lot of random conversations going on and, unfortunately, the band was subjected to plenty of first-act awkwardness.
Despite the lack of student excitement for this band, they definitely deserved a little more recognition. Five A.M. released their third album in 2008 entitled, "Raise the Sun," in which they worked with Grammy-nominated producer Jeff Dawson and Grammy-winning mixer Mike Fraser who has worked with well known artists such as Aerosmith and Metallica.
When they began to play their opening song it became very clear that they had been working together for quite some time- their sound was very cohesive. The vocals and tone are comparable to bands like Nickelback and Daughtry. Lead singer Trent Yaconelli not only resembled Kevin Kline in the right light but also immediately proved his strong vocal talent in the first few songs performed. Lead guitarist Zack Hammer also had unique talent with his impressive guitar riffs.
But after the first few songs, it seemed the audience was growing more impatient to see Thriving Ivory. The chatter became louder and it seemed the band was struggling to finish up their set. However, they did close out their set with an upbeat crowd pleaser entitled "Every Now and Then."
When Thriving Ivory finally took the stage, the crowd was bursting with excitement. It became clear within in the first couple minutes that Thriving Ivory is what a band should sound like live.
Not only was their instrumental sound clean and powerful but they had vibrant energy that only increased the contagious vibe in the room. It can often times be a guessing game when it comes to whether a band will actually sound good live, but Thriving Ivory certainly did not disappoint. What was most impressive about their performance was the vocal range and control of lead singer Clayton Stroop. He amazed, and even seemed to capture hearts, with his powerful high notes and seemed to capture hearts with the lyrics of the songs.
Their song "Hey Lady" was definitely a crowd favorite as couples swayed back and forth and happily intoxicated friends embraced each other.
Thriving Ivory also pumped up the crowd when they covered two well-known songs: U2's "Mysterious Ways" and The Beatles' "Let It Be."
Another highlight of the set came when Stroop and piano player Scott Jason broke it down with a nice and slow piece.
They then hyped the crowd back up again with their popular single "Angels on the Moon" during which the crowd burst out in song. Unfortunately, if you didn't catch this performance you will have to wait a while to see them again because this was their last show for their current album. However, they will be coming out with a new album sometime next year which will presumably be followed with another tour.
For their latest news check out their MySpace at www.myspace.com/thrivingivory or their official web site at ThrivingIvory.com. You can find out more information about local band Five A.M. at their website www.fiveam.com.
This video is compliments of Mix It Up Magazine
More videos and pictures can be found on Mix It Up's website http://mixitupmagazine.com/events.html
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