Sunburst Summer Live @ The THMV

A little over a week ago I was invited out to the Terre Haute Music Venue to watch a local band called Sunburst Summer, who I’ve actually seen once before when they played with Brave Souls and was pleasantly surprised. This was their second show, and again they’ve surprised me on multiple fronts. The band is fronted by David Clark pulling lead vocals, backed by guitarists and backup vocalists Aaron Norris and Jordan Daley, Caleb Mustin on bass, and Marc Pemberton on the skins.

Time Will Tell
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du_DFA4ODqE&hl=en&fs=1]

They opened up the show with their first song, which was also my personal favorite, called Time Will Tell (embedded above). The reason this is my favorite song is because it does an excellent job of showing off the strengths of all band members. The song opens up with Daley playing an ambient riff and Clark putting out some rather impressively solid vocals. The rest of the band kicks in after a few lyrics and the song is in full swing, showcasing Mustin and Pemberton’s solid abilities to keep tempo and beat while synchronizing their instruments with the guitar and vocals. Most impressive, though, is Norris on lead guitar. He pulls out shreds and licks that perfectly accompany and even enhance his band mates melodies.

Under the Bridge
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shakLQ31B0s&hl=en&fs=1]

They followed their performance of Time Will Tell with Under the Bridge which is a little more deep than it’s former, introducing more song parts and coinciding guitar work. The song starts off very similarly to it’s former, with Daley playing a mellow riff and the rest of the band following suit, introducing more energy and a deeper sound. This song provided louder and more energetic instrumentals which allowed Clark to push his vocals to a more aggressive level. Pemberton also had more fills than in the previous song, which helped to keep things sounding fresh and interesting.

Only in Your Presence
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id4KUETJ-o0&hl=en&fs=1]

The bands final song was also their most epic, playing at a lengthy 7 minutes. Despite it’s length however, the song manages to keep a fresh sound thanks to several different sections and constant shredding from Norris. This epic tune also did the best job for showing off Pemberton’s drumming ability, with awesome jams and an impressive ability to hold endurance and keep a solid tempo through the whole thing. It also displays Mustin as a far more than adequate bass player with plenty of riffs and, like Pemberton, perfect stamina in keeping a tempo.

Sunburst Summer delivered an exceptional performance from all band members, with the only thing to really gripe about being onstage antics. There aren’t enough. Mustin needs to get more involved in the energy, and the whole band needs to run around on stage a little more. Other than that they played their set near flawlessly and impressed more than just a few spectators. A good performance overall, and I’m sure there are plenty more to come.

Go check out the band’s MySpace, or hit up Everyview’s YouTube Channel for more videos!

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