While Taking Back Sunday entertained the crowd inside Johnson Coliseum Friday night at Sammypalooza, the bands on the outdoor stage also had their chance to shine.
The outdoor stage, headlined by Oh, Sleeper, featured four bands that warmed up the crowd and played while the festivities occurred. One of those bands was Vice Verse Us.
The five piece rock band from Houston has been around for a year, but ultimately was looking for a way to break into the college scene. After hearing about the show, the band put in a request to play at Sammypalooza.
“I think our music appeals to a certain age, roughly like 15-25 or so,” guitarist Nathan Gamez said. “And a lot of that demographic is in college, so to be able to play venues/universities where a lot of those people are is just golden for us. Any type of college show is a great opportunity for us to gain new listeners.”
“We usually jump on anything we think is a good opportunity,” lead singer Joey Esquivel said. “We all like to play and we all love doing music. And if we feel like it’s going to be a good show, we’ll take anything.”
Despite battling the heat on Friday, the band feels the show was better than their previous performances as changes to the band have been made. Bassist Matt Gamez joined the band about a month ago and this was his sixth show as a member of the band.
“I think we are getting better as a band altogether,” Matt Gamez said. “We are still relatively new and everything is starting to click with the chemistry of the band.”
The band is grateful to have been selected to play Sammypalooza and thanks the University and fans for coming out and supporting them.
“Fan support is something that’s really comforting for bands when they’re playing away from home,” Nathan Gamez said. “We’re really grateful that you guys at SHSU opened up to us and gave us a chance. We made some new friends at Sam and we’re excited to get back to Huntsville and see them again.”
More information about the band, including details on upcoming shows, can be found on the band’s Facebook page.
