What a show! If any audience member had an ailment, it was surely cured by the melodies of Nurses‘ onstage performance, where lead vocalist Aaron Chapman admitted he was feeling a bit under the weather. Yet, the crowd couldn’t tell there was even a hint of a tickle in his throat. The set was immaculate.
They played the perfect amalgamation of their two albums, Apple’s Acre (2009) and the band’s latest release, Dracula (2011), sparking emotional reactions from several crowd members.
Chapman’s vocals are comparable to Prince’s (whom Nurses listened to exclusively while recording their latest album), yet notable in their own right. Much of the anticipation from the audience’s perspective was discovering whether his vocals would transcend phonetically in a live setting as they do in the recorded albums (which the band proudly admitted were mixed using Garage Band). Sore throat aside, Chapman sang with prophetic passion and gusto, surpassing the crowd’s expectations.
“Lita” by Nurses
The new album has the ability to pull a person from the trenches of a deep depression. The band isn’t shocked by the album’s spirit-lifting quality, since it was recorded during a time of difficult life challenges for the Portland-based trio consisting of Chapman, John Bowers and James Mitchell. This is illustrated through the pop melodies and “ode-to-potatoes” lyrics shared by the Dead Ocean Records band.
“Fever Dreams” by Nurses
Dominant Legs started its first tour since releasing the debut album, Young at Love and Life, earlier this year, which was released on Lefse Records. Nurses, who previously toured with Tallest Man on Earth, did not know what to expect when Dominant Legs came to join the band on the road. According to both bands, it has been nearly perfect.
The bands’ harmonious pairing and sharing of gear and instruments on the road made for an easy trip. Dominant Legs had a set that gave Schubas that old, high school dance-floor feel, circa 1980, with bubblegum pop and sweet vocals. The audience smiled and danced frenetically, pulling out some old ’80s-like shuffle to each of the bands’ songs.
“Hoops of Love” by Dominant Legs
