Concert review: Saintseneca comes home to Newport

Ethan Clewell
Thu, 11 Apr 2019 17:38:59 +0000
Arts & Life, Music, News

Zac Little of Saintseneca jumps around while playing the acoustic guitar during their performance at Newport Music Hall on Apr. 10 Credit: Willow Mollenkopf | For The Lantern

On Wednesday night, alternative band Saintseneca took the stage for their hometown show at Newport Music Hall.

Looking into the crowd, I noticed faces from a few different local bands. That’s when I realized that this was not just a Saintseneca concert, it was a celebration of local music. We all got to see a band talented enough to forge their own music careers beyond the scope of Columbus.

Even band member Maryn Jones talked about how it was odd to be on the stage side of things at Newport, as she had seen many shows at the venue they were headlining.

It felt like a celebration of Columbus music. Even the openers, Dominique Larue and Snarls, hail from Columbus.

The strawberry heart that glowed on the banner hung behind the drums caught my eye. Other than that, the lighting for the show was minimal.

The band’s setlist was a nice transition of mixing the old with the new, and the energetic with the soft.

Lead singer Zac Little has a great voice for alternative folk music. He’s got a slight twang, but can definitely hold a note Their instrumentations seemed to mix well with the electric and the acoustic for the most part.

However, I was memorized by the fret play of all of the band members. There were some moments of high-energy strumming, and that was a blast to see, but it was their finger play on the fretboard that was the most beautiful.

One highlight for me was when they performed a cover of the song “Wait A Minute,” a bluegrass song by Seldom Scene, and they managed to make it their own, but still recognizable.

The start of the show was pretty energetic, with the song selection. Towards the latter half of the show, the set slowed down, and that’s where Little’s voice just shined, especially with “Book Of The Dead On Sale” and “We Are All Beads On The Same String.”

It felt like this community peaked during the song “Only The Good Die Young” as it was only performed with string instruments and the crowd, without being told to, filled in the percussions with claps. Overall, it felt like Columbus and Saintseneca were one.