Coloring the strip purple

Laura Corral/ The Roundup

A bevy of twenty-something’s lined up outside the doors of the Knitting Factory on Friday, ready to see the venue’s finest musical act of the night. The act, known divinely as Purple Melon are a foursome of talented young musicians hailing from London, England.

I had never heard of Purple Melon until that night, but it seemed they were a popular choice amongst fans of the indie rock genre. So I walked into the venue completely in trust of my peers that the show I was about to see would be enjoyable. 

As 11 P.M. came around and the show was about to start, the stage went black only to illuminate bright purple lights; as the color was only appropriate.

Through the haze of purple lights appeared the group, ready to entertain the anticipating crowd with their musical style.
 
Purple Melon’s first song of the night was “Please Don’t Go”, which clearly was their most popular song, seeing as how some of the shows patrons knew the lyrics. After hearing the first song I could instantly tell that the bands primary musical influence was none other than the legendary British band, The Beatles.

Lead singer Tom Hill wooed the audience with his insightful lyrics and melodic voice.  With songs like “Annabella” and “Henry’s Rocket”, Purple Melon’s style was most likely heavily influenced by Abbey Road-era Beatles.

Most new bands indigenous to England pay homage to Led Zeppelin and emphasize the use of Jimmy Page-esque guitar style, and Purple Melon’s lead guitarist, Owen Barry, was no exception.

With the vocal styling’s reminiscent to Sir Paul McCartney and the guitar sound within the means of Page, this band had a rather interesting sound that was both eclectic and familiar.

Fans of the classic rock genre might find solace in the nostalgic vibe of Purple Melon.
 
For the most part, I enjoyed the show as much as most of the other patrons did. The band had great stage presence, the songs were nicely transitioned and their audience interaction was ideal.

On another note, while their set was entertaining and pleasing to the ears, I found that after the third or fourth song, the content of the songs started to become a little bit redundant. It was clear that the first few songs were the more popular ones, by both the band and the fans.
 
As the show came to a close, the band graciously thanked the audience for coming out and advised us to look for their first album. Purple Melon is definitely a talented upcoming band with a bright future ahead of them.  People should definetly look out for their new album, slated for a 2009 release.

Their music can be heard on Myspace Music at www.myspace.com/purplemelonspace.
 

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