Sister Bar hosted the tour kick-off party for local Albuquerque band Red Light Cameras and their guest performers, the Timewreckers and Jared and The Mill.
Despite a disrespectfully low amount of monthly listens on Spotify, Red Light Cameras was able to gather a huge amount of fans for their opening tour performance.
The opening band that stood out the most was, by far, the Arizona band, Jared and The Mill. Led by ultra-skinny-jean-wearing Jared Kolesar, Jared and The Mill ramped up the audience with a strong folk rock performance only topped by genre giants Mumford & Sons.
After Jared and The Mill wrapped up their performance, it was time for the main act, Red Light Cameras, to take over — and take over they did.
The headliner was originally called Evol Lived, in 2010 but now is thankfully renamed Red Light Cameras after the addition of lead singer Amanda Machon — the band took over the packed Sister Bar for a night of celebration on March 7.
With a collection of three albums and two EPs, Red Light Cameras has slowly but surely been honing in their skills at producing catchy music and sharpening their skills of putting on an awe-inspiring performance.
Frontwoman Machon was clearly the star of the evening.
She held such a strong stage presence that one might suspect she had been headlining stadium tours for decades. Machon was amazingly beloved by so many audience members, that in between almost every song, a concertgoer would go buy her a drink and pass it up to the stage — a sign of appreciation for the young lead vocalist.
HAIM, The Lumineers and many mainstream bands in the indie rock genre have mastered the art of creating irresistible hooks within their music. Take it from The Lumineers’ “Ho Hey” or HAIM’s “Want You Back,” the importance of a catchy hook can’t be overstated. Catchy hooks give fans something easy to sing along to and fall in love with — this is just what Red Light Cameras has taken and run with.
The Red Light Cameras’ top songs, “Caged,” “Waiting” and “Come on Over,” all contain the same gears driving them along — a higher-octave guitar run, relatable lyrics and passionate delivery. Throughout the nights’ set Red Light Cameras got the usual sleepy crowd of Burqueños dancing and grooving to their music.
After a strong run of upbeat songs, Machon and the band pulled songs, such as “Friends and Benefits,” “Survive” and “Waiting” from their 2017 EP, “Friends and Benefits,” to slow down the night and give Machon more time to showcase her vocal range.
Minutes after ending their encore performance, members of Red Light Cameras hopped off stage and went straight to their merch table to mingle with fans, who quickly joined suit and jumped in line to buy CDs, T-shirts and vinyls, thrilled to have the still-sweaty band members sign their purchases.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
This kind of dedication to their fans has definitely not gone unnoticed, as many fans in line discussed which albums they already had signed and which ones they planned on getting next.
With Red Light Cameras’ latest feature album, “All Your Fault,” being released back in 2016, I was surprised to see the amount of hype surrounding their performance.
Out of all the active Albuquerque local bands, it’s clear Red Light Cameras is next up for fame. With more than a handful of catchy tracks, Red Light Cameras has the most staying power out of any Albuquerque act.
Will they prove to outshine The Shins and take the spot as Albuquerque’s most beloved local band? Only time will tell.
Colton Newman is the photo editor and a music writer for the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at photo@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Coltonperson.
