Downlocal Show
Canvas and Downlo at Tree's on 7-27-03 by SeraJay

Canvas, hailing from Austin, have played the local show a few times times already, and it's always interesting. Canvas, who could easily be compared to Jibe, gives off this intense hippie vibe. Even Julian, the guitar player, who looks like Prince, moves around the stage with an acid-induced aura. The singer, Joseph, has the stage presence of greatness in the making. He flows and stretches his arms (Jesus style) in ways that very few can actually pull off. He has a well trained voice, and doesn't try to go places with it that he shouldn't- a mistake too many singers make. Canvas manages to work in the perfect amount of spoken lyrics as well. This doesn't work for everyone, but their hippie style and Joseph's calming voice are the perfect match. Canvas made the mistake of overusing this technique in the past, but they toned it down to its current level. As a whole, canvas is a good band. They don't try to be something they're not. They all play well with each other, meaning that no one is so exceptional they overshadow the others. Their new CD, Four Days Awake, is available now.

Downlo are a complete oxymoron to their name/slogan, ie: nothing about them is low key. From the moment they were introduced until they left the stage, the crowd cheered "Keep it on the Downlo!". If you've been to any club in Deep Ellum in the past few months you've probably seen the Downlo flyer at least once. They emit such an energy and passion for what they do you can't help but be caught up in it. Downlo is a tight band, they probably finish each others sentences- as it should be, considering three of the five of them played in Crucial Fiction (a band that broke up a few years ago) before Downlo. Howard, the singer, oozes out the life of his music from every pore. He is nothing short of pure intense energy during every song. Downlo has sounds of 80's metal band, Living Colour, combined with the nu-metal sounds of Sevendust, producing a unique sound unlike any other Deep Ellum band.

All in all, this past local show was one of the best this year. I've been to a ton of local shows and this crowd was one of the biggest. This was one show where no one showed any signs of dissapointment, and the crowd screamed insanely at the mention of an encore.