CONCERT REVIEW: Gentleman Auction House @ Dfest

I may have been lead to give Gentleman Auction House a chance by their quirky name and a half-hearted recommendation by a friend, but once I was able to catch this St. Louis rock sextet in action it didn't take long before I was making glowing recommendations of my own. My first encounter with the band was last year at Tulsa's Dfest music festival. I awarded the band "the must pleasant surprise" of the festival honor, and when this year's festival came around last weekend I was eager to catch the band in action once again.

At first glance, GAH should catch your attention. The band features two drummers, two keyboardists (one of which also plays the trumpet), a bassist, and an unintimidating yet charismatic guitar playing frontman. This year they played their Dfest set at the IDL Ballroom in downtown Tulsa, a club formerly known as The Blank Slate and the same venue that I first saw the band at the year before. Though I actually hadn't listened to them in some time before they took the stage last Saturday night, it all started to come back to me as to why I enjoy this band so much as soon as they broke out into their jubilant, groove filled set opener. With a mix of indie folk, deliciously danceable r&b flavored pop and infinitely catchy choruses, Gentleman Auction House have found a sound that is both strikingly original and comfortably familiar. On top of that they give one hell of a live performance.

During the half hour set, GAH frontman Eric Enger was an impassioned story teller. His clever and all together interesting lyrics came spewing from his lips like it was the last time he'd have the chance to recite them. The rest of the band was equally as fervent, both drummers pounded at their trap sets without abandon while the keyboardists swayed and grooved with the rhythm while providing delightful backup vocals to the harmonic delight of the show. The vocals of keyboardist Kiley Kozel were the most benign addition to GAH's sound, her high pitched voice a perfect compliment to Enger's demanding performance.

Gentleman Auction House isn't just a great live band though, last year the group released their fantastic debut full length Alphabet Graveyard - easily one of the must unheralded albums of last year. And word from the band is that a follow up shouldn't be too far away. While I ended up watching a number of other bands at Dfest last weekend, some of which were quite good, it was Gentleman Auction House's performance that stuck with me most through the drunken haze - and that's saying something. For those who haven't had the privilege of hearing GAH, check out the video for "Book of Matches" below.