The Venue- The Hollow
Despite its numerous competitors on N Pearl Street, The Hollow has become one of Albany's brightest nightlife locations. This versatile spot hosts a bar, restaurant, and music venue (called The Low Beat) as well as modest prices and friendly staff. The wooden front room is accented with black trim, metal signs, and mason jar-ed light bulbs for a modern take on homey ambiance. Beyond the dining and bar sections is a small room coated in black which holds a billiard table, bar, and rugged stage. Colored lights pop on exposed pipelines and play across musician's faces as they perform. Fairy lights strung above the bar soften the night club vibes as bands like Good Fiction command audiences of up to 200 people.
Electric player, Alex Wollyung, impressed with his quick, accurate finger work, string-bending wails, and fondness for the whammy bar. His use of pedals and placement embodied the desired tone and filled the stage with vibrant musical lines. Wollyung played with intense fervor, conquering zig-zaging themes intently and without mistake. Screams erupted from the audience as Wollyung concluded particularly intricate sequences. The complexity of his playing makes you wonder how he manages to take up only the optimal amount of melodic space. Wollyung's playing showcases his abilities while simultaneously complimenting those of his bandmates'.
While singing Grace also plays drums which is signature for the trio. A natural performer, Grace commands the stage with drumming that is intentional, consistent, and clean. Through his playing Grace wordlessly communicated with his fellow band members. It is this exchange that makes live music exciting. Good Fiction is tight and calculated as they converged in melody; an impressive display for a band only about a year old. Grace's bass drum sent vibrations into the shabby floor boards and to listener's tapping feet. It proudly displayed the band's logo- "Good Fiction" exclaimed in hand-ripped white electrical tape, a mark of the band's humble basement beginnings. Grace completed lightening-fast snare and toms work all the while his head rolled back, almost as if he could faint. But after each song his exhaustion was overcome by an increasingly greater intensity as the next song began.
Good Fiction ended its 45 minute set with a raging, audience-favorite. The band flawlessly sped into a rapid succession of expertly coaxed crashes that burst with a clang- each one more mind filling than the last. The whole room leaned in and shuddered as the last such clang echoed to silence. A photograph was taken. Good Fiction tempted us with a single blasting quarter note of sound and ended the set, Grace even standing as the cymbal was hit and crispy grasped- the closing blast only out matched by the audience's deafening roar.
The Bassline
Good Fiction: Upstate New York's Three Piece Rock Epic.
Go see them.