Canada took over NYC on Tuesday as Vancouver-based band Hotel Mira made a stop on their “The United States of A-Mira-Ca Tour.”
Playing at the legendary Mercury Lounge, the venue was the perfect intimate setting for Hotel Mira and their tour-mates The Zola’s, also from Vancouver.
The Zola’s kicked off the show with songs “Yung Dicaprio” and “Molotov Girls” with the whole crowd singing along – they knew every word. The singalongs continued with “Ancient Mars,” “Miles Away,” and “Energy Czar” interspersed with shouts of “I love this song!” and “we love you Zach!” Zach being lead vocalist/guitarist Zachary Gray, who along with Dwight Abell on bass/backing vocals and Cody Holes on drums make up The Zola’s. The band finished up with “Strange Girl,” “I Feel the Transition,” and “Swooner” before Zach entered the crowd for the last song “Escape Artist” where he was lit by fan’s flashlights.
After a short break, indie-rockers Hotel Mira took the stage opening with “You Know Best,” “Better On Your Own,” and “This Could Be It For Me.” The band mostly played songs from their 2020 album Perfectionism (with the first half of their set being tracks from the album) but threw in a few older releases much to their fans delight.
Lead singer Charlie Kerr never stopped moving and continuously interacted with fans the entire set, grabbing and shaking people’s hands as they reached for him. Guitarist Clark Grieve, bassists/keyboardist Mike Noble, and drummer Cole George all gave a high energy performance. Hotel Mira continued their set with 2014’s “Circulation” and “Southern Comforting” along with more tracks from Perfectionism: “The Eyes On You,” “A Song For Daisy,” “Jungle,” and “Speaking Off The Record.” Fans were treated to new release “Fever Pitch” before the band closed with “Oh My God” from their 2016 album Divorce.
