Ed. – Our very own Susanne Spires was at the Rumba Café on Friday to give us this reports on Moira‘s set.

By Susanne Spires

Let me just preface everything by saying Moira is a great band from Cincinnati. But, no one in the band is named Moira.

Alicia Grodecki (vocals, Rhodes piano, synthesizers) and Patrick Hague (drums, samples, synthesizers) played their first show in six months Friday at Rumba Café, opening for Digisaurus. This was their first show with new band member Aaron Hardy rounding out the rhythm section.

Alicia Grodecki (Credit: J. Thompson / Music in Motion Columbus)

Filling the stage with a labyrinth of cables, they provided the audience with a carefully crafted dreamy, electronic, synth-pop sound. The intimate setting of Rumba really allowed for Grodecki’s voice to stand out, not that she would ever have trouble doing so anywhere. I was reminded a bit of Chvrches and Broods, both in style and vocal range.

Moira is currently touring in support of their debut album “Asleep/Repeat/Awake” and their first single, Midwestern Waste, was the third song of their unfortunately too short eight-song set. The song starts with a spellbinding piano laid on beautifully crafted samples that co-mingle perfectly with lyrics about getting the chance to leave. And then at the crescendo, the drums somehow lay on a transcendent layer to it all. Pieces that somehow shouldn’t fit together find their way in Moira’s music.

Aaron Hardy (Credit: J. Thompson / Music in Motion Columbus)

Midway through their set, Grodecki lifted a shot of whiskey and gave a “Cheers” to the crowd.  I’m not sure if it was the whiskey, that they were playing as a three piece, playing for the first time in six months, or for the obvious talent among all three musicians… whatever the reason, but Machines got the very few people that weren’t paying attention to pay full damn attention now. It was brilliant. The dichotomy of this song live was wonderful… a soft piano piece as the drummer, Hague, is frenetically playing and that again somehow was interwoven into it and the heartbeat-altering bass line of Hardy went perfectly with the powerhouse vocals of Grodecki. Everything blended together into a loud, gorgeous and ethereal sound.

At the end of their set, my ears were ringing a little… but I knew that no amount of effects can take away from the stripped-down and raw talent of Moira. Plus, the fact that I just saw the beginning of a band that was on their way to much bigger rooms and much larger crowds.

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Setlist

1. Ocean’s Worth
2. You Say
3. Midwestern Waste
4. Bones
5. Bloodstream
6. Machines
7. Untitled
8. Blacking Out

Moira – Midwestern Waste