Chris Staples w/ Verity Den

Went to a concert tonite with my wife at the North Carolina Museum of Art and it was a ton of fun! We saw Chris Staples and Verity Den (who opened the show). Chris was their supporting his just-released album Don't Worry (See link above).

verity den

I'd never heard of them before, to be honest. They were great live though! They are a shoegaze band (I knew that much in advance) but wasn't sure what they'd do at the show as it was described as an "intimate venue" which made me wonder if they were going in an acoustic direction. They didn't though - it was full on feedback, layered guitars and instrumentation and noise. I'll admit - it was amusing watching some of the people not used to shoegaze sounds squirm.

some images from verity den and chris staples

chris staples

Chris is who I was primarily there to see. I've long enjoyed his music. He got his start (I believe) in an emo band in the late 90s (TwoThirtyEight) and then branched off to his own thing, first with the name Discover America and then under his own name. His latest album just came out and this show was to support it - just him and his guitar.

It was intimate - he shared openly about his songs and their meaning and inspiration and invite the audience into the discussion as well. I love shows like that where the artists feel like down to earth, relatable people. All in all - it was a great night!