French Cassettes Bring Summer Air to The Atlantis
Washington D.c - February 12th, 2024
Photo Creds: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2gTEZ6p7CB/?img_index=1
Surfing a wave from their adopted city of San Francisco to The Atlantis in Washington D.C., indie quartet French Cassettes put on a show of West Coast beats for the sold-out crowd in front of them.
The band, consisting of Scott Huerta (vocals, guitar), Mackenzie Bunch (guitar, keyboard), Thomas Huerta (bass), and James Gallagher (drums), opened for No Vacation on February 12, 2024. They kicked off their performance with “Good For It,” a single released in 2021 that Huerta wrote as an outtake during their sessions for their 2020 album Rolodex. According to a postcard message available at their merch table, the song includes “two choruses” after Huerta’s grandmother complained about their tracks having zero.
The easy, light guitar strums of “Good For It” set the summer energy flowing free. The band sang two unreleased, new songs next. Huerta explained while speaking to him after the show that they are using the tour as a means to “test out new music and see the reception.”
French Cassettes played a few songs from Rolodex, “Dixie Lane” and “City Kitty” whose psychedelic, fuzzy guitar melodies had people moving their shoulders to the relaxed beat.
Technical difficulties arose about halfway through the show, and as the band quickly worked to fix the issues, Scott Huerta joked with the crowd: “Our football team lost last night, we’re hungover, and now of course something’s wrong with our bass.”
Perhaps the true testament to their artistic resiliency was their stripped-back version of “Sunday Soda” -- stripped back due to the amp and mic issues. Nevertheless, the performance signified the very point of the song, whose chorus sings “But I don’t mind waiting such a long time/For patience/For three red lights.”
The band played their 2023 releases “Medium Horny” and “Baseball Bat,” both tracks continuing their steady drum and surf-rock vibe.
Their set concluded with “Utah,” the more guitar-heavy piece gaining head nods from the audience to the addictive fresh repetition of the chorus.
French Cassette’s opening act was nothing short of a road trip out west. Their eclectic, playful energy on stage coupled with their tracks centered on being in the sun, taking life as it comes, and the attempt of always trying to move forward not only sets them apart as dynamic performers, but serves as proof of their ability to bring sunshine no matter where they go, or where they play, or when they play.