Mew & Onethousand Pictures @ Fine Line Music Cafe

When approaching a show to see, not the headliner, but the undercard, so to speak, it gives you a lot of freedom to get into the music really fast. Fortunately San Diego’s Onethousand Pictures offered a short set that was well cut, stylish and completely on mark, helping the crowd wake up. The band, now two years in the making, was put together by its tattoo covered singer Evan Robinson and guitarist Reid Curby as a reactionary sound to a negative connotation that has surrounded much of modern rock music. “I think of it as the alternative to so much negativity that’s out there,” notes Robinson, “I want our music to have a positive impact on people. I like to make people feel special, that they have worth, and to encourage them to follow their dreams.” With that, the band proved important for the night and was honestly impressive with their presence and sound.

The night’s main event, as far as we were concerned, was one of the most brilliant bands to ever come from Denmark: Mew. The band played a set far too short, but suitable for their position on the bill, all including a video backdrop that handsomely meshed the band’s inspiration for their warping harmonies and fragile lyrics.

What was most impressive with Mew wasn’t just the bands ability to blanket a smaller club atmosphere with its stadium-crushing sound, rather lead singer Jonas Bjerre was able to maintain a sense of intimacy with the crowd while peering out from the dark setting of the stage just long enough to startle with his uniquely pitched vocals. There might not have been as much of a salute to the Danish rock gods as expected, but the set was nonetheless stunning.