Show Recap: Empire! Empire! (IWALE), Dowsing, Enta, and Cloud Gavin

Thursday night saw one of the best shows of the season for Error Records. Even though Dowsing and Empire! Empire! have several releases out on Count Your Lucky Stars records, they brought their distro out for all show-goers to browse through. A sizable crowd they had too, which included 12 residents of Allen Hall (home of Pizza FM), and the four bands performed flawless and utterly remarkable sets.Cloud Gavin certainly takes the cake when it comes to what my friend refers to as the "wow factor". I spoke a bit with Zach Hudson, the group's fronting vocalist/guitarist, before the show, who told me that despite forming in Danville originally, the group had now diverged to both the Champaign area and Indianapolis. Nonetheless, what was really surprising was the first thing they loaded onto the stage prior to the show. It wasn't the drum kit, nor speaker cabinets, but two homemade racks that combined held eight floodlights. These flickered on and off throughout their set which was equally as dynamic, ebbing and flowing through moments of raw outpouring emotion, heartfelt progressions, and even some parts where space-like effects were generated with the help of delay pedals. Overall, it was a flashy and top-notch performance from a group I hadn't heard before, and the night was off to a fantastic start.Enta took the stage next. I first saw this band when they played Black Sheep Cafe back in January, and I was wowed by their precision and the level of excitement they brought to the brand of post-rock infused hardcore they played. Dual guitars, and this time around, three at the microphone, along with the blistering drum work of Nelson Cowan, all converged to fill the lot of Error with the familiar and pleasant sound they bring to all their shows. Their set consisted mostly of new material, and all of it was on-point, indicating that their releases due in 2014 are to be heavily anticipated.Enta next will be playing Error Records with the likes of Tiny Moving Parts, Goliath, Take Care, and Kellam on Thursday, November 21, which is only two weeks away, just in case you want to catch them again!Dowsing brought with them some bad news; they had planned to tour the West Coast following their show at Error, but complications would end their run short. However, this, in my opinion, probably made the night that much better with it being the last set of a two week-long stint on the road to the East Coast and back with Empire! Empire!. From my spot in the room, I even witnessed a few members of the audience singing along to many of their forward-driving indie rock ballads. Given that they're probably headed back to Chicago tonight, they can sleep happily knowing they pleased a warm crowd. Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) also had a weird set up. John, who filled in on drums for Dowsing, and Adam, a friend of mine at the show, were telling me how Keith, the husband part of the normally husband-wife duo that is Empire! Empire!, recruit members of bands they tour with to be their backing band. For this particular tour, Cathy was absent, but filling in on bass and guitar were two members of Dowsing. Yet, the four of them had nothing but fun onstage, and so did the swelling audience that stood in close proximity around them. At one point during the stage, the three donned with axes turned their backs to the audience and in unison pointed the necks of  their instruments to the ceiling, all while playing and shaking their asses. Like Dowsing, this was the last stop on tour for the popular emo outfit, but their visit here to Champaign was well appreciated.  For more information on more upcoming shows at Error Records, click here.For more information on artists from Count Your Lucky Stars records, click here.