La Tierra De La Culebra and The House of Machines: Gracie Gray, Okudaxij, Glaare, Spare Parts for Broken Hearts, Milly and Tennis System

A recent Saturday was a busy music day. First up, it was out to a park in Highland Park called La Tierra De La Culebra. I had never heard of this park. It is on 57th Street, not that far from Highland Park Bowl. It is a community park kept up by the neighbors in the area. There are some giant trees that keep the area shaded. And there are paths along the area that takes you up and down the 3 tiers of the park.

The afternoon was put on by Beating Lights. I specifically went to catch Gracie Gray. I had just recently seen her at The Satellite and just fell in love with her vocals. Watching her a second time, playing under a massive oak tree, was like listening to the vocals of an angel. And the atmospheric sounds of her music hits you emotionally.

Gracie Gray

I also happened to catch Okudaxij and his folk tunes. He mentioned that his band name was hard to remember so he just told folks to find his Instagram by typing in OKUD. He also looked over to where Gracie Gray was sitting and said that he noticed that her Instagram account was GracietheGray. He wondered if that was a reference to Lord of the Rings. Gracie lifted up her left arm and yelled out, "Yes."

Okudaxij

A couple hours later is was off to The House of Machines to catch a few more bands.

Up first was GLAARE. I had previously caught GLAARE at The Satellite. As they started their set, they asked if the lights could be brought down to match their goth sounds. Unfortunately, the guys at the soundboard said they couldn't really do anything about the lights. Maybe they're connected to lights that impact the rest of the building? The lights were brighter than they might have wanted, but that didn't stop them from putting on a solid sound of doom.

GLAARE

Spare Parts for Broken Hearts was the highlight of the evening. Their punk sounds brought sunlight to the venue. They just are relentless in their music. One moment will stand out for me. Johnny, inspired by being in the moment, kicked a cup of water into the audience. I happened to be kneeling down at the stage during the moment. Drops of water splashed across me. A little bit hit my lens. No big deal, but my one thought was, "I wonder if I'm going to take anymore photos of Spare Parts for Broken Hearts or is there just going to be water bubbles all over my lens." I think the water splashes were more on the edges of my filter so I don't think they impacted the photos that much.

Spare Parts for Broken Hearts

Milly came up next. The band likes to play with rather emotionless looks on their faces. Kind of like the faces that models use on the walkway. Well, one friend was having none of it. She ran up to the stage and danced around until she got a smile from the band.

Milly

Tennis System closed out the night. Their sounds shakes the body. Moment of the set has to be when the bassist got atop the speakers that have to be 10 feet above the ground and then took a leaping jump off. I personally would have broken an ankle.

Tennis System