Concert review: The Fluorescents at Lola’s Saloon

A few weeks back, I was talking to promoter Aaron Knight of Blackbox Productions about the music scene and who he thinks is exciting on the Funkytown sonic landscape.

Knight books just about everyone in town at one time or another, and he’s got a good ear — so when he mentioned the Fluorescents without hesitation, I knew I had to give them a listen. Then Sunday, I saw they were playing at Lola’s, and I had my chance.

I got to Lola’s just as they were taking the stage. I recognized bassist Tyler Moore from War Party and drummer Peter Wierenga of Jake Paleschic’s band. They were joined by front-man/guitarist Brandon Woodward and guitarist Taylor Poston.

The Fluorescents have a kind of a garage/post-punk thing. The rhythm section lays down a really driving punk freight train of sound for Brandon and Taylor to build on.

Vocals have kind of that strained, indie vibe happening, and you get a garage-rehearsal, laid-back vibe as the band exchanges comments about the next songs and Brandon takes a flying leap from his amp while flailing on a dark-red Epiphone SG.

It’s very rock ’n’ roll, and very entertaining.

When asked about the subject matter of his songs, Brandon spoke of one in particular — a darker piece called Scum.

“I grew up with a childhood friend and he started using drugs,” Brandon said. “I had to estrange myself from him and separate myself from him because of that. That song is about my frustration about that type of thing, and my lack of patience with poor decisions.

“I know that drugs take hold of people and make them do things that they wouldn’t do.”

Brandon supports his music habit working as a chef at the Grand Hyatt DFW, but the band is in the process of a releasing a new EP — recorded at Eagle Audio and produced by Wierenga. Once mastered, the band plans to release the EP on cassette and digital download (and possibly CD if there is enough demand).

This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Concert review: The Fluorescents at Lola’s Saloon."