The Ottobar in Baltimore lit up in an electric blaze of indie rock as Quarters of Change hit the stage Sunday night.
Before Quarters of Change performed, openers Trip Sydney and Rebounder warmed up the crowd with lesser known tunes.
Trip Sydney was first up and certainly brought the energy. Lead singer Jack Clarke shredded his guitar while jumping around on stage, never missing a beat. The band’s intense performance passion was palpable, and felt by members of the audience.
Trip Sydney has only released two singles. When the band played “Flamingo,” a small stuffed pink flamingo was brought out on stage and made to dance along, eliciting cheers from the crowd.
Rebounder, playing second, kicked off its set with one of the band’s most popular songs, “Slow Angel.” The brother duo of Dylan Chenfeld and Noah Chenfeld shone with amazing vocals. Noah Chenfeld stunned the crowd when he did a freestyle rap.
“Baltimore, shout out to the Orioles / I’m sort of a stranger / I’m really sorry about the Texas Rangers / But I believe in a fair way, ‘Good Morning Baltimore’ like it’s Hairspray,” Noah rapped.
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The entire audience sang along in a call and response fashion when the group played “Meet Me at the Bar.” Even if you don’t know the song, the repetitive lyrics invited you to be a part of the experience.
When it was finally time for Quarters of Change to come out, the lights dimmed. Guitarists Jasper Harris and Ben Acker were the first to appear on stage and slowly strummed their guitars in anticipation.
Drummer Attila Anrather joined the group as the lights transitioned to a deep red. As Anrather began to play, lead singer Ben Roter appeared on stage and the crowd went absolutely wild.
The band opened with one of its newly released songs, “What I Wanted.” This head banging bop was only the start to its incredible set, as the band transitioned to the other newly released tracks “Do or Die” and “Hollywood Baby.”
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These songs are some of its best work so far. The hard-hitting drums, melodic guitar riffs and danceable rhythms made for an amazing live experience.
In fact, every Quarters of Change song was better live. It’s evident Roter feels the lyrics deeply and goes through the emotional journey of the song before the audience’s eyes.
Roter’s voice shines the most in “Blue Copper.” This song’s emotional lyrics about lost love come through in the passion of his vocals.
And, of course, the band sang its iconic song “T Love.” The lyrics were scream-sung in unison by everyone in the venue, and the energy from the crowd took the performance to the next level.
For the band’s encore, Roter came out solo and sang an unreleased ballad as he strummed an electric guitar. The slow song was dramatically different from the rest of the set. Roter sang about illogical decisions made in the name of love as the audience slowly swayed along.
To close out the encore, Quarters of Change played “Rift,” which includes a head-spinning guitar solo from Harris. His masterful technique creates an explosion of sound and truly takes listeners to another dimension.
After playing the final note, the band then exited the stage to roaring cheers.
Quarters of Change will release its sophomore album on Jan. 26, 2024.
