Hot Nite at Jack Rabbits: Vinyl Theatre

It may be possible to estimate a band’s true popularity entirely on how many fans willingly cram into tight, un-air-conditioned spaces this time of year.
Any local concert-goer is familiar with the perils of attending a standing-only show in July, especially at a venue as compact as Jack Rabbits. A few vents pumped a derisory amount of warm air into the hall as girls clutched their hair off their necks. Performers onstage literally rained sweat onto their instruments and the audience, who willingly thrust their phones into the deluge to capture every moment for the Internet.
A young crowd assembled to see Vinyl Theatre perform along with opening acts that included local band Faze Wave and LA-based Machineheart. The electro-pop-rock headliner took the stage to a house filled with a dominantly young fanbase: the average age of the audience could easily have been sixteen if it wasn’t for their present chaperones. The musicians seemed to embrace the heat with good nature, encouraging the crowd to dance and scream and hydrate too.
As is common in current music, VT seems to resist a single genre. They have familiar elements that ring of Two Door Cinema Club or The Killers. They even did a tribute to the latter, covering the Guitar Hero anthem “When You Were Young.”
Originally from Milwaukee, band members Keegan Calmes, Chris Senner, Josh Pothier and Nick Cesarz have been creating music since 2012. Their first incarnation went by the name Alchemy, but they soon discovered the name was common and confusion was inevitable. According to an interview in Milwaukee’s Journal-Sentinel, they chose “Vinyl Theatre” because they value the theatrics of music, and vinyl editions are typically purchased by dedicated fans.
(Or your garden variety vinyl enthusiast.)
Their debut album Electrogram was released in November of 2014. Single “Breaking Up My Bones” has become a radio hit, and has been favorably compared to the sound and style of Twenty One Pilots. VT fans on the First Coast caught the tail end of their tour, as they only have six remaining shows before hopefully finding some decent air conditioning.