The Soda Bar changed with Canadian-based artist, Billy Raffoul, taking the stage on November first for his headlining “Wish You Were Here” tour.
The first opener is Billy’s Bassist, Justin Zuccato, and his solo project, The Indiana Drones. Cracking some jokes while the people are trickling in, His fully acoustic set starts with “Even If The Rain”. The song sounds like a love letter to a partner saying that he will always be there for them. A personal favorite song from the set is “Someone Else”. On audio recordings, it's a super upbeat song with catchy drums, bass, and backing vocals, but hearing it live brought more emotion. For me, it talks about the feeling of going through the motions of the day and being so uptight and stressed that you just want to be someone else to avoid the stress. Overall, The Indiana Drones is a new addition to my daily playlist and a band I’ll keep my eye on.
Peter Raffoul is next up in the lineup and just has a soulful voice. His first song, “Cigarette Holes” is a melodic and somber song about the lingering feelings post-breakup. Hearing the emotion behind his voice in this song was very impactful and hit close to home. A favorite of mine from the set was “Fucked Up Together”. The feeling of wanting to go back to a previous time in life and then the sad, nostalgic feeling behind it. While being alone can be good, it's always nice to know someone who can relate to what you happen to be going through. The mutual knowledge is comforting. With this, a few of his setlist songs have made it to my acoustic favorites.
It’s time for Billy Raffoul’s set. I first heard about Raffoul’s music with his song “Driver” back in high school. It talks about the feeling of being lost in life and losing control, being the “hitchhiker” in the song. Starting his set with “I’m Not a Saint”, he gives the side of an apology letter to a loved one about the bad habits in their relationship that are slowly tearing them apart, and with this apology, comes the promise of change. My favorite song of this set is “Michael”. With sick guitar riffs and a catchy beat, I interpret it as PTSD due to a religious figure in the song character, Michael. With this, he takes his revenge on his religious higher-ups. He also did a duet with his brother, Peter, for a song. Throughout his set and playing with his brother, you can tell his love for his music and his family is very prominent. After seeing Raffoul’s show, My playlist is renewed with a wide range of genres and now all three have been added to my artist radar for their new projects.
