Heaving & Harrison Gordon – The Castle Theatre

By: Kate Karvelis

On March 30th, 2024, Heaving hosted an EP release show at The Castle Theater in Normal, IL. They had four bands playing, all of which were local to Central IL. This was really cool to experience local bands in such a big venue. According to Glittermouth (the first opener)’s twitter, 446 people were in attendance (https://twitter.com/eyyohbee/status/1774604810563498279).  

This was my first rock and metal show. My brother and dad are huge fans of the genre, so I have always had an appreciation for both genres. Glittermouth came on first, and I enjoyed it! I didn’t know what to expect (other than glitter), and I found myself enjoying it. There was a family not too far away from us, and I thought it was really sweet a family came out, and that this concert became a family event.  

After a quick set from Glittermouth, Grey slush came out. During the turnover I noticed a synthesizer machine coming out. This made me really excited! Grey Slush was my favorite band of the night. Contrary to the name, Grey Slush played dreamy indie rock music, supported by synths and guitars. Throughout the whole show, The Castle’s lighting team had a wonderful lighting design, that really added to the whole vibe of the show.  

To switch up where we were standing, Hannah and I went up to the balcony level for the final two performances of the show. We took seats, right behind family members of the members of Harrison Gordon Has A Band. This added a really nice personal touch to the show. We could tell they were family members because of how loud they were cheering and how they recorded the whole set. I have seen Harrison Gordon at a few local DIY venues, so seeing this band ‘blow up’ and play a huge venue was really cool! Being the most familiar with this band, I found myself singing along to their entire set. My favorite song they played was ‘Yuppies’.  

Finally, Heaving was the closer. Heaving’s EP and band came out to ‘alien invasion’ sounding music, giving me the idea that they center their band/EP on themes like Alien Invasions. One of the members had a gold mask on for the show- reminiscing of M.F. DOOM. Their lighting Setup was green, and even had LED lights on the amp. Those special touches of theming, really made the concert that much better for me! Heaving is a metal band, and this was my first time seeing metal music live. I really appreciate the art, and while metal music isn’t for me, I have a ton of respect for the band for putting on this huge show, and releasing an EP!  

 

Overall, it was a great night of exploring new music!