Concert Review: Marian Hill at The Crocodile

I was really pumped to head over to the legendary Crocodile Saturday night to check out the much talked about Marian Hill. They have been generating a lot of buzz and tonight’s sold out show only proved that their fall tour has been a huge success. I arrived a little early to get a spot in the front and made a few friends on my way. A couple of them were Marian Hill vocalist Samantha Gongol’s aunts that had moved from Philadelphia to Seattle and were really excited to see the show. One of the aunts had been to the Portland show the night before and was probably going to the final show in Vancouver tomorrow. They seemed very proud of her and happy of all the success that had come the band’s way in the last couple of years.

Samantha and Jeremy Lloyd originally met in high school and went on to study in different branches of music before reuniting to create music together, with their first song being “Whiskey”. After bringing Steve Davit out at their first show to play the saxophone, the fans demanded more so the jazz musician has been touring with the duo switching between the saxophone and bass.

It seems that Lloyd has mastered the perfect balance of heavy beats with jazz, blues and Sam’s soft voice to create something unique. They got the crowd going right from the beginning, starting with “One Time”, sharing a few new songs with the adoring crowd.. Everyone seemed to be swaying from side to side along with the beats, voice and magical sax that was soothing yet dance-able.

They went on to play the rest of their songs from Sway, my favorites include, “Got It”, “Whiskey”, “Lips”, and “Deep”. It was their first time in Seattle but I’m sure it won’t be their last. The audience loved them and many didn’t get a chance to see them because it was sold out, so next time it will probably be a much larger venue. I went upstairs during their encore and noticed that everyone was dancing around in the space having a great time with the music. It was a great show to attend and I’m sure they are going to keep rising fast.

See more photos HERE