A night for ballads of lost love seen through rose colored glasses
Photo by DJ Rachie (@rgreendesign)
When I walked into Hole in the Wall last Wednesday to cover the Triple Threat Show, I had no idea what to expect. The back patio was barren compared to how I had seen it in the past, and the heavy construction and dark back room where artists typically congregated was empty except for the band members trickling in and myself.
In the front room, there was a songwriter showcase that ran long and delayed the first band’s showtime by half an hour; all these factors understandably caused an antsy energy amongst the performers. However, tensions quickly eased once it was time to set up.
As the first band started — it seemed as if everyone knew someone in the room creating an air of closeness that only added to the ambiance.
Photo by DJ Rachie (@rgreendesign)
Gilad Bogner
Gilad Bogner and his band opened a stellar performance and set the tone for the rest of the night perfectly. Interspersed with melancholy lyrics about his lost love, Bogner and his band demonstrated well-practiced musicianship and played songs full of spectacular solos from the guitarist and keyboardist. “Looking Back”, the single being celebrated, was released on September 29. The song is an upbeat, guitar-heavy song about making do with your own choices and moving forward, as Bogner put it. The funky riffs contrasted the lyrics “How on earth could I not see / How much I gave you all of me” and “I left you and it set me free.” Despite the sore subject, the song inspired cheering and dancing from the tipsy audience.
Seth Celdrán
In opposition to Gilad Bogner, up-and-coming singer Seth Celdrán performed his new release “Ballad of a Broken Man”, a heavy song that exemplified what Celdrán had been singing about all night: depression, love, and longing. On the track, which was written about finding comfort in pain, Celdrán wailed “I want you to break me / Make me / I’ve been hiding for too long / With nowhere to belong” over deep basslines and discordant piano. Celdrán spoke to the audience briefly about how he was a teenager during the pandemic, which informed much of his writing, before playing a song he wrote when he was 15 years old.
Photo by DJ Rachie (@rgreendesign)
Eddie Angel
Singer Angel Estrada and his band Eddie Angel closed out the night with their jazzy set and Estrada’s powerful vocals. Eddie Angel’s new single, “U & I”, is one of many R&B tunes from the band’s discography. In a display much like the two performers before him, Estrada crooned “Don’t you know that I loved you so / But you never gave it back” to a disembodied lover, becoming the third and final performer of the evening to lay bare the troubles of love. The rest of the set was full of perfectly in-sync melodies from each band member topped off by the sweet tenor of Estrada’s voice.
The Triple Threat showcase was just one of hundreds of showings Hole in the Wall has any given year; the business prides itself on being a venue that one can visit any given night of the week and experience a good concert. Wednesday's concert was no different, and it's no wonder the bands' impressive performances were able to fill the front room.
Despite the stumbling start, the three bands that played at the showcase — Gilad Bogner, Seth Celdran, and Eddie Angel — each played a spectacular show in addition to presenting their new singles. While each band’s background and style differed widely, themes of displacement, yearning, and camaraderie defined the evening; feelings only amplified by the feeling of friendship and intimacy present in the front room of the bar. Each one of the new singles focused on what it feels like for love to hurt, a feeling many know well.