A Little Room to Breathe
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| photo by paul dunkley |
Packed doesn’t quite explain it. “Packed like sardines” might
be a better description. For a soft opening, 7 Bar and Kitchen had to be
pushing capacity.
The large diverse crowd was made up of folksters (folk meets hipsters), entrepreneurs, college
kids, parents, and SB local music buffs. It was one of the most diverse crowds
I have ever seen in SB. I am not sure if the crowd came for the opening of the
new hot spot in the funk zone, or the indie folk band playing the event. My
guess is a combo of both.
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| photo by paul dunkley |
The band, Ghost Tiger, emerged on the Santa Barbara scene a couple
years back (according to my research), fresh faced and wide eyed. The five-piece
is made up of Alixandra Macmillan-Fiedel (vocals), Emma Houston (keyboards),
Kevin Evans (bass), Chris Norlinger (guitar), and Chris Stansell (drums). A
fusion of folk and electronic pop, GT has a trendy indie folk sound that draws
a nice following. The big selling point for this band is Macmillan-Fiedel’s
voice. It’s big, deep, and soulful – and doesn’t seem like it would come from
this tiny girl.
As the music started, the crowd condensed near the sage. The
beginning of the set ranged from a foot tapping number to a heart heavy ballad.
I lasted four songs.
Unfortunately, I started feeling like a sardine buried alive
in a small tin can, so I had to leave just to breathe. Which really
bummed me out. I would really like to enjoy both the venue and the band under
less “stressed” conditions. But a girls gotta breathe.
7 Bar and Kitchen
Ghost Tiger