The hip, yet cozy, coffee shop, The Vinyl Cafe, hosted a charming show headlined by the one-man act Dear Rabbit during the Maximum Ames Music Festival.

The show consisted of four bands, one-man band Paper Ceilings, one-man band Googolplexia, guitar and keyboard band Lesbian Poetry and one-man band Dear Rabbit.

Twenty-somethings and a few old bodies with young souls packed the shop as folksy indie bands played their hearts out. Everyone in earshot was unified by the music and many sang along. It was almost as if everybody was standing around an invisible campfire, singing, laughing and enjoying the energy.

The quirky one-man band Paper Ceilings, aka Jesse Ceilings, opened with an acoustic guitar and can best be described with his own lyrics, “I’m just a guy.” The simplicity of his performance was both relaxing and refreshing. 

Paper Ceilings was followed by Robert Severson’s loud and eccentric one-man band Googolplexia. For this acoustic performance, Googolplexia ditched his various instruments and played completely acapella, minus a final song played on a ukulele.

The scene can best be described as blissful chaos. Googolplexia did not limit his act to the makeshift stage in the front of the room. Instead, he paraded around the entire shop and at one point, even walked outside. Though the performance was unconventional, the vocals were decent and his lyrics were catchy. 

Googolplexia’s performance was followed by the band Lesbian Poetry. Katie Rejsek played the keyboard and Elliot Burke played the guitar and sang. The instruments, calm vocals and stationary performance was a nice contrast to the previous act by Googolplexia.

Lesbian Poetry’s casual lyrics were those most people could relate to and their laid-back style made them easy to listen to and incredibly enjoyable. 

Headlining act for the show, Dear Rabbit, was the last act to play. Dear Rabbit is a one-man band from southern Colorado and consists of the vocals of Rence Liam and his many instruments such as, but not limited to, a trumpet, a guitar and a melodyhorn.

Dear Rabbit played with much intense emotion and a sound that immediately teleported the listener to a log cabin. Anyone could tell his status as a headliner was well-earned, for he is a jack of many trades and extremely talented. 

All in all, the show was great. The bands were not only great but the room was pretty much bursting with personality. 

3/5