LIVE REVIEW: BLEEKER // ATLANTA, GA

By Madison Sharp

First off let me start by saying that Atlanta traffic downright sucks. Now that’s out of the way I can talk about the show I had the pleasure of attending.
On Thursday June 30^th, I had the pleasure of attending Sublime with Tribal Seed and Bleeker (and no, I’m not talking about the kid from Juno). As I rushed in late to find Bleeker in the middle of their third song (a scary sight for photographers) I frantically took out my camera and snapped as many photos as humanly possible in one minute. After the photo debacle I began to listen and take in what Bleeker really had to offer.

Luckily, I saw Bleeker on the first night of the tour with Sublime. These alternative rockers come all the way from Ontario, CAN. Over the couple of years Bleeker has been building up a steady fan base in Canada. Earlier this year they embarked on the first leg of their North American tour. On Thursday they graced the stage with the excitement of being on the same stage as the legends, Sublime. The overwhelming energy they brought to the stage made their set actually more enjoyable than Sublime or Tribal Seed. I also found it refreshing that the band’s sound was more than the typical island vibe that you find at a Sublime show. As they played the audience slowly began to move and really began to feel the music

Having not heard Bleeker beforehand I had no idea what to expect. In all honesty, I was expecting them to be the run of the mill reggae sounding band. As I rushed to my seat I began listening to their song, “Highway”. Which is a beautiful mix of rock with a slight undertone of modern psychedelia. The perfect pairing to a Sublime show. The upbeat rhythm of the night got everything off to a wonderful start. Even the Sublime-heads that traveled near and far to see them were rocking out with Bleeker. The night took off because of the steady toe stomping hook these guys have. Not only was the music wonderful they interacted with the audience beautifully. You can tell that these guys loved what they were doing and the audience loved them back.

After praising their music, I would love to praise how nice these guys are. Like I said I was running a tad bit off schedule and only got maybe 6 good photos. As I met them in the merch room they were more than happy to comply with my rather unprofessional request to take a quick few pictures in the parking lot. As I gathered my things and walked out to meet them I still had the slightest bit of doubt that a rock group would comply with my odd request. To my delight they were photoready. They even grabbed my brother and took a few shots with him.

I have nothing but praise to say about these Canadian kids. Not only did they bring out a totally different vibe to the venue they also brought endless charm and kindness. Bleeker’s new album Erase you will be out soon but in the meantime check out their self-titled EP. I promise the rock/psychedela mix will not disappoint. Bleeker brought the people of The Tabernacle worshiping at their feet.