Hockey Dad • Remo Drive • Tatiana Hazel • November 14, 2024 • The Complex
Reviewed and Photographed by Morgan Newbold
Last Thursday, surf rock band Hockey Dad came out to Salt Lake City to play a lowkey, intimate gig at The Complex! They just got started on their US/Australia tour this winter with Tatiana Hazel and Remo Drive! I am always grateful to photograph shows of artists that I’m hearing for the first time! It’s a great experience and challenge to shoot, not knowing what to expect. However, I did listen to Tatiana beforehand and now I am definitely a new fan of hers! This was honestly the most intimate show I’ve attended at The Complex, but the energy was UP in the Grand room! With a majority of young fans in the crowd, everyone came to get absolutely wild. This show brought a triple threat of indie-rock splendor! I certainly enjoyed sitting back and losing myself in the music when I wasn’t shooting.
Tatiana Hazel
The first artist to open was Tatiana Hazel, an alt-rock singer/musician from Chicago and LA! When doing a little research on the artists for this show, I was instantly intrigued by Tatiana’s style and sound. Her music clicked with me off the bat, so I was stoked to photograph her! She is quite shy but looks like a total badass. A sweetheart. Her music is not very heavy, but has that indie shoegaze quality that I definitely vibe with! It was a breeze to capture her and her band rocking out, being quite photogenic and all. Her set was so good and I would absolutely go see her again if she comes back to Utah!
Remo Drive
Next up was Remo Drive! American rock band from Minnesota, consisting of brothers Erik and Stephen Paulson. I didn’t realize at first that they were co-headlining with Hockey Dad, but I was glad to see a longer set from them because I really dug their sound! I hadn’t heard anything from them beforehand. They had great, playful energy and Erik’s vocals are crisp and lovely! They had a bright neon sign in the back that said Mercy, for their newest album, and their lighting was on point! I spent most of the show in the back, vibing with their performance and taking in the purity of the moment. The crowd was vibing so hard and even formed a few quick mosh pits. I’ll continue listening to Remo Drive because of how much they impressed me!
Hockey Dad
Hockey Dad, the final headliner, is an Australian surf-rock band that formed in 2013! The duo, frontman Zach Stephenson and Billy Fleming met much earlier as kids in the late 90’s, and played together in another band in high school! They have released 4 albums together, with their most recent, ‘Rebuild Repeat’ out this past summer! They finally came on at 10 pm, and the crowd was still going. Ready to rock.
The boys had great chemistry right off the bat. Their sound is very chill and vibey! They played mostly their new album and a few of their hits like ‘Seaweed’ and ‘Join the Club’! I really enjoy Aussie surf-rock, so this was a fire set to watch! The lighting and visuals were kept simple, but the music was on point. Great energy from them! I’ll admit It was interesting the way all the members were spread out on the stage, with Zach singing all the way on the left side, Billy drumming on the right, and bassist Steve Bourke in the middle, but the performance was still electric! He had an excellent stage presence and got the crowd riled up. It was quite fun!
Stream their newest album, because it’s pretty fantastic, and make sure to catch them on the road for the rest of their tour across the country, or in Australia in December, or when they hit the UK and Europe next spring!