Oh The Joy (Formidable)!
By Michele Lenni in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 4, 2011 6:00PM
When the group, led by the towheaded, unrestrained guitarist and lead vocalist Ritzy Bryan, released a retooled full-length release stateside on Atlantic records, we rejoiced in what was a great collaboration between a small band and a big label. The Big Roar, awash with layer upon layer of swelling, Billy Corgan style guitar and a Veruca Salt pop sensibility, has managed to win our hearts just as much as that first single did with its undying commitment to just plain rock your socks off.
Though little mention of them has been made on this side of the pond, the group has garnered quite a following in Europe, which led the group opening for Sir Paul McCartney at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and several well-received festival spots in Leeds and Glastonbury. Tomorrow they bring their stadium-sized sound to Lincoln Hall's smaller stage. We recommend you join us front row with some earplugs and take in what will be a boisterous express train back to indie-rock's mid'90s heyday.
The Joy Formidable, plays Tuesday, April 5, at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N Lincoln Ave., 9 p.m., $13, 18+