By: Cora Linos

After three days straight of concerts, I stumbled home to Madison to my piles of abandoned concert ‘fits, setlists, and quick entry compatible bags. I scrounged through my piles of clothes to find something to wear to my fourth consecutive night out. This small band I had been following for a little bit were at Gamma Ray and I was excited to check them out. Or at least I was a few weeks ago when I added the show to my calendar. At this point, it was only 8pm, and I was already ready for bed. Bleary-eyed, I put on a little makeup and packed my earplugs to stumble back out to my car and over to Gamma Ray, energy drink in my cupholder. 

I pulled up just in time to catch Cinema Stereo, a tight three-piece band playing the perfect blend of 70s classic rock jams and 80s pop energy–with the clothes to match. They were just as fun live as on record, playing tunes guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a tap in your toes. Each member is a lively character who looked like they were having the time of their lives, grinning and joking with each other between songs. I highly recommend checking out their new(er) song “Now We Feel Special.” It’s got a bit of a surf-rock vibe to it with jangly chords, earnest vocals, and a fun little breakdown in the bridge. 

The band could’ve been playing to a concert hall of thousands instead of a sparsely populated bar in a college town on a summer Sunday night, with an audience made up mostly of their co-headliners. The sign of a great band–in my opinion–is the way they perform, regardless of their audience. And if that’s the metric, then Cinema Stereo are in for a meteoric rise.  

Hear more cool new bands like this on Moving in Stereo, Mondays at midnite CT, only on WSUM 91.7 FM Madison.