LIVE REVIEW: Faze Wave, Hate Drugs, Sleep House, and Password:Password // Atlanta, GA

By Lauren Armao

Above: Sleep House

Last night, I headed down to Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta with some friends to see Faze Wave, Hate Drugs, Sleep House, and Password:Password. I have been a fan of Faze Wave for awhile, but wasn’t familiar with the other bands, however I went in with an open mind and was ready to have a great time.

The show was in a small room – 100 cap – separate from the main restaurant area, and as soon as we walked in, I was in heaven. I love smaller shows. I say this in the least pretentious way possible; I haven’t been to a show over 1,000 cap in almost three years. Including all the band members themselves, who watched each other perform from the crowd, there couldn’t have been more than 50 of us there at the most, making this the smallest show I’ve ever been to. And it was amazing.

We were some of the first people to arrive, and after about 15 minutes David, the vocalist/guitarist from Hate Drugs (p.s. David we are sorry we did not know who you were before the show) came over, introduced himself/shook our hands and told us to have an awesome night. That’s the kind of stuff you’d never have happen at an arena show, or even a 1,000 cap show.

The first band to play was Password:Password, a local band from Georgia Tech. On the ticket website their bio described their music as “spacey synth” and we definitely got that. I also felt some Tame Impala and the XX vibes mixed in as well, which was cool. Overall I really enjoyed their set and would for sure drive down to ATL to see them play again. Also, their front woman had a sick septum piercing – props to her; I wish I could rock that.

The next band was Sleep House, an alternative indie rock band from New Jersey. These guys put on a high energy show and got the crowd really hyped up. Even though we didn’t know any of the words, we were still having a fantastic time, which shows they know how to put on a great show. At the end of their set they covered Sex by The 1975, and all of us in the front row were screaming all the words and jumping around.

After that was Hate Drugs, an indie surf-rock band from California. This was our favorite opening band; their set was just all around really great vibes. It was a mix of high energy jumping around and more chill, laid back songs, which I really liked. These guys loved talking to the crowd and making their performance really personal, which to me is the best thing any band can do. It really felt like it we were all one, instead of it just being us watching them perform. Also, at some point during this set, all of us in the front row started doing the Macarena along to one of their songs, which was pretty funny.

The last band to perform was Faze Wave, an alternative band from Jacksonville, FL. I was really looking forward to them, because I didn’t get to stay for their set the last time they were in ATL. A few people had left so it was just us in the front row now, and we were just jamming out and having a great time. Unfortunately, we had to leave right before their last song (sorry guys), but I was incredibly happy because I got to see Chemistry live before we left, which is my favorite song by them. These guys put on a killer set and I definitely can’t wait to see them again when they come back!

All in all, it was a great night filled with great music and even better people. All the bands were incredibly kind and down-to-earth, and I also found some new music to add to my Spotify. I was having so much fun, I only took one photo (above) and two or three videos the entire night.

To sum things up, go to small shows; support local music! You’ll have the time of your life.

Be sure to check out all of the bands I linked above, and if you’re in the ATL area, I highly recommend checking out shows at Smith’s Olde Bar – it’s a really neat place!