By Gabriella Gaspardi
In the Paradise Rock Club, a small and intimate venue near Brookline, devoted fans crowded the stage Friday to see self-proclaimed garage rock band, Heartless Bastards.
A Cincinnati-based band, led by vocalist Erika Wennerstrom, captured the early 30’s crowd clad in flannels, denim and baseball hats. Wennerstrom was first noticed by drummer Patrick Carney of the Black Keys in 2004, and signed with Fat Possum Records shortly after.
Heartless Bastards has a contemporary folk rock sound that can be likened to mainstream bands such as the Avett Brothers, Of Monsters and Men, or The Black Keys.
Alberta Cross opened the show, an English rock band formed in 2005. The band captured the audience’s attention, and went beyond being a typical unnoticed first set. Members of the audience praised lead singer, Peter Ericson Stakee, and joyfully sang along throughout the opening act.
“I think one of the reasons the Heartless Bastards have such a reliable following is because their music is easy to listen and jam out to,” said Zenab Minhas, a freshman at Suffolk University.
“Coming to this concert, I was afraid that the crowd was going to be rowdy, but the crowd was totally mellow. You could see people just jamming out and having a good time,” continued Minhas.
Although the band has only been established for a little over a decade, Heartless Bastards’ sound parallels the likes of singers such as Neil Young, Melissa Etheridge, and Lynrd Skynrd.
To be honest, the majority of the set sounded like a continuation of a single song. I enjoyed watching the band’s chemistry as they broke out in the middle of each song to improvise guitar solos and jam sessions.
Landing spots on several television soundtracks, such as Friday Night Lights, Daredevil and Suits, the band continued their success providing their hit songs to movies “Blake Snake Moan,” “Safe Haven” and original score to an independent film, “Winter in the Blood.”
In 2009, Rolling Stones ranked the band as one of the 24, “Can’t Miss Sets of 2009. Their fifth album, “Restless Ones,” released in early June ranked as one of the top albums of 2015.
