Even on a Wednesday, Still Woozy packed the house at Johnny Brenda’s. When I arrived just before the opener came on, the room felt rather empty. However, after another hour, the venue was totally filled. Those who came early enough were treated to Cehryl (pronounced Cheryl), who boldly performed entirely on her own. She played guitar and sang, and her only backing was beats that she had on her phone.
I enjoyed listening to her expressive voice, which seemed to overtake her rather small stature. Her moody, chill DIY sound, however, made her a curious choice as an opener. She did not have much stage presence or energy, which proved a stark contrast as soon as Still Woozy took the stage. Although I liked her music, it would have fit better at a coffeehouse open mic night. It certainly did not prepare me for what was to come.
I was intrigued, especially after Cehryl’s set to see what kind of show Still Woozy would give. I don’t think any of the three-member ensemble stopped moving or dancing at all throughout the set. They sounded very authentic live, but still found ways to mix it up through their visual performance. They encouraged the audience to sing and dance along. Despite being a relatively new outfit, fans knew all the words to their songs. I was also interested to see how they would fill a full set, given that they have released only six songs.
They padded the set with diverse covers, ranging from a sing-along punk number to a Mac Demarco crowd pleaser, as well as replaying one of their most popular songs as an impromptu encore. They also were not afraid to interact with crowd. At one point, Sven, the singer and frontman, jumped into the crowd and began waltzing with audience members. I’ve truly never seen anything like it. I found it refreshing to see a band have so much fun, not only with themselves, but with their audience, too. All three stayed on stage after their set finished to talk to fans. It was one of the weirder live shows I’ve seen, but nonetheless very enjoyable and endlessly surprising.
