Troubled Minds + Cheem headline The Broadway with support from The Big Easy + Smooth Brain!
7:00PM Doors // 8:00PM Show
21+
$12 adv // $15 dos
Troubled Minds
good riffs and good hangs from phoenix, az
Cheem
While the layered vocal harmonies and interplay may evoke daydreams of boy bands a la the late 90s/early 2000s, Cheem’s very existence is punk. Refusing to create by anyone’s standards but their own, Cheem, made up of Sam Nazaretian (Vocals), Skye Holden (Vocals/Guitar), Gabriel Weitzman (Guitar), Nathan Porter (bass), and Sean Thomas (Drums), draw as much inspiration from the fast intricate instrumentals of hyperpop as they do from the harmonized pop of NSYNC or technical prowess of Animals as Leaders. Cheem play by no rules and that’s exactly how they like it.
The guiding vision behind Guilty Pleasure is becoming a band free from constraints. With production completely done by Cheem’s guitarist/producer Gabe Weitzman and mastering by Kris Crummett (Sleeping with Sirens, Issues, Dance Gavin Dance), Guilty Pleasure is a selfish record with further emphasis on criticizing the current world of existing as a rock band. The band refuses to let these criticisms discourage them, and proceeds to make the music they aspire to create.
The Big Easy
Founded in 2016, The Big Easy was, for a while at least, the solo project of singer-songwriter Stephen Berthomieux. The Big Easy’s lineup solidified with Stephen Adams on guitar and Pete Clark on drums, and an album slowly started to take shape. Berthomieux states, "The Big Easy is a lo-fi indie band, and all the other genres we fall into, punk, emo, whatever, I don’t care; we are going to be the band that brings you this really raw personality, while making it as accessible as possible, without losing that essential aspect of where I came from as a musician.” Elements of everything from Cursive to PUP to the Beach Boys surface on A Long Year, and on repeat listens, those sonic reference points feel all the more apt. With songs like “Fake It Till I Make It” and “If I Knew It Was The Last Time,” The Big Easy confidently transforms on a dime, dodging predictable patterns to instead create big cathartic moments that feel truly earned.
Smooth Brain
In the face of the adversity and hostility enveloping our global community, reactions tend to skew toward the extremes: escapist joy or full-steam-ahead revolution. Smooth Brain is asking the question: Why not both? The pop-punk quintet from the tri-state area is fighting the oppression of LGBTQ people by proving not only that they exist, but that they are not going anywhere anytime soon. They are forging community through impassioned songs about love and heartbreak; confusion and nostalgia; queer joy and pure rage. To the band, those last two go hand in hand – nothing could be more in the spirit of rebellion than dancing and singing together. That’s the most crucial part: unity. Whether at a show or at home, it’s all about the music and the community … the togetherness of it all.
