Blame the Heat:

Brian Olive

with Where’s Billy and Deaf Poets

Churchill's Pub
Miami, FL
May 24, 2011

Review and Photos by Juan Hernandez

I rushed my girlfriend out of her house and sped over to Churchill's hoping to get to the show on time... a ritual for too many men. The Englishman at the door informed me the show would be an hour late, making me wish I could beat the crap out of whoever started the “early bird gets the worm” saying. To make the whole matter worse the venue wasn't nearly as full as the event page on Facebook made it seem. Maybe the late start was an attempt to wait for late arrivers. Not unlike a party, when a lot of people say they'll go and few actually attend, it gives a bad first impression. To be perfectly honest though, it's always been a dream of mine to take pictures at a poorly attended show (like less than 15 people poorly attended).

Where's Billy - Darren - Vocal, Guitar, Milky - Guitar, Vocal
Jimmy - Bass, Mike - Drums

We were fortunate to catch the UK band, Where's Billy. The four piece group didn't quite fit in with the other bluesy rock acts but one of the guitar players was an Emery fan and that's cool with me. Their heavy treble and bass was fluid and I sensed some New Found Glory patterns and Incubus-inspired guitar inserts. Think early 2000 punk blended with Incubus' Morning View mixed with some mild old school Lost Prophets. The drummer played sharp and the double bass executed a very aggressive and clean style almost perfectly. Despite coming all the way from the UK, they seemed at home in Miami's most local of scenes.

Without much nonsense, Olive was captivating and musically talented, ripping on a guitar and sax. He played with heavy soul and rock influence paired with a soft jazz undertone.

Sean Wouters - Deaf Poets

Deaf Poets are a well known, respected, and very active Miami band. The young group seems to play Churchill's so often they're almost the house band. The two-piece played a short albeit distracted set list. It's tempting to call them White Stripish, but I'm gonna avoid that comparison because every duo gets that these days. The Miami Heat playoff game playing on the giant projector next to the band led to some interesting banter. Lead guitarist, Sean Wouters, who sports a Heat tattoo on his calf, spent much of the set glancing at the screen, yelling at the players and refs. As always Nicolas Espinosa's drumming was on point and the group's guitar hooks hypnotize. After the quick set, the duo sat down near the bar continuing to scream at the game.

Brian Olive, best known for his work with the Soledad Brothers and Greenhorns, started his set wisely after the game ended. My expectations for the set rose when I noticed a saxophone onstage, some extra fancy guitar equipment, and a full band. Without much nonsense, Olive was captivating and musically talented, ripping on a guitar and sax. He played with heavy soul and rock influence paired with a soft jazz undertone. Olive and his band blurred the lines of experimental jazz, rock, and indie exceptionally well. There were a couple songs that seemed to induce slumber but the rest at least kept you nodding and tapping your feet.

Brian Olive

You almost felt bad for Olive, playing in front of a near empty bar, especially when he sheepishly remarked, “We've been looking forward to playing this show for a while.”

I give the man a lot of respect for playing the show despite the abysmal turnout. Sometimes we forget that musicians do work hard, constantly touring and often playing dark, empty bars like Churchill's. After the show a soft spoken Olive chatted with fans for a few minutes and even offered me a copy of his first album, I repeated it on my first listen three times. I'll be looking forward to more of his work, and you should too.

Check out Brian Olive: www.brianolive.net

Connect with us on Facebook or Tweet Us @outloudonline