Date: Thursday, September 27th, 2012
Line up: The Green & Stick Figure
Location: High Dive. Gainesville, FL
After their run on this Summer’s Vans Warped Tour, The Green is back on tour this Fall, playing around the nation on their Liars and Lovers Tour! This month, east coast reggae-rock fans can catch a full headlining set by The Green on the first leg of the tour with special guest, Stick Figure!
The Liars and Lovers Tour kicked off this week at Jacksonville, Florida’s infamous Freebird Live. The Pier was fortunate enough to be able to catch the show on its second night of tour, down the road, in Gainesville, Florida, before they headed south for three more stops around the state.
The Green is an amazing band, whom over the years, has played the market, season after season, opening for many great bands, working to build their fan base. It was because of the great bands before them that they got their shot at success. This time around, the band is headlining, keeping the tradition of their predecessors and peers going by bringing along a mean opening act, one everybody needs to be introduced to. Although it was a Green show, many people were there to see the special attraction, underground favorite, Stick Figure!
As one fan describes “I have seen The Green, and I love them, but I came to see Stick Figure…I found out about Stick Figure from the Sublime Archive way back in the day, and I have been listening ever since…Now I finally get to see him live!”
From Southern California through way of Massachusetts, Stick Figure front man, Scott Woodruff, one of San Diego’s favorite reggae-dub artist, is finally touring the east coast! Writing SoCal style tunes since his 2006 release of Sounds of My Addiction, Scott has gained the attention of many fans with his unique style of recording. After listening to his albums for years, fan have been anxiously awaiting to hear him play live. Now with a full four piece outfit, Scott and his band Stick Figure, are finally playing the east coast, touring nationally for the FIRST time!
Around 10:00pm Stick figure took the stage, and instantly dubbed down the room. They started out with “Meltdown,” am unreleased instrumental. The song showcases Stick Figure’s style of dub , using a classic reggae guitar skank, setting the tone for the rest of the set.
Since it is the band’s first time traveling all the way east, I wish the they could have spent a little more time on stage, playing slightly under a hour. Set length aside, the fans loved the set list! With this tour, Stick Figure is 
supporting their new, fifth studio album, Burial Ground, but only played “Breathe” from the album, but overall was a good array of tunes. The group played a lot of the older songs heavily laying into 2009’s Smoke Stack.
Stick Figure has a mellow sound similar to the smoothness of The Green, who shares a unique roots sound. The two bands play in the same realm of the genre, making for a nice match up of bands for a show or tour. Playing on The Green’s Liars and Lovers Tour! is the perfect start, to what I am sure will be many tours east. When The Pier asked Stick Figure about traveling east, Scott Woodruff told us “I’m from the east, so I love it over here..great crowds…This is our first tour over here though, and I’m happy we get to play with one of my favorite bands, The Green”
In continued support of their recent album, Ways & Means, and their new single “Liars,” The Green is crushing key markets around the nations. I have said this before, but the Florida fans are a lucky bunch. With such a large market, bands tend to play a whole week, or so around the state! This week, Florida fans got a heavy dose of The Green, with fifteen dates scheduled on the east coast leg of their fall tour, five of them are in Florida!
What did the Florida, get to hear, what is in store for the rest of the nation? Well fans, I hope you can hear The Green Coming, because they were loud! “They played a whole Summer of outdoor festival shows on the Warped Tour, I think they still have everything turned up from that!..It’s awesome..they sound great!”
A bit after 11:00, the room went black, and the band’s brand new, neon “The Green” sign flickered on behind the stage, filling the room with an aura of glowing green lights, signaling to the excited crowd that it was show time. Soon after, The Hawaiian crew, took their place, the six piece easily filling the tiny stage.
The Green started the set similarly to the beginning of Ways & Means, with the dub intro of “Keep On.” That first track instantly introduces the band’s distinct sound and the group’s amazing vocal harmonies. From there, The Green went into four songs of their self titled album, before playing a run of songs off Ways & Means. In their 90 minutes on stage, The Green’s repertoire included a nice blend of 19 songs off their two albums, appropriately mixing it up, playing half of the songs from one disc, and half from the other. It was a beautiful set!
One thing that must be mentioned when discussing the talents of The Green is their musicality. The bands compositions, including wide ranging vocals, and layered instrumentation, are incomparable in the genre. Their sound, one accented by four singers, makes The Green very impressive.
At once, the group sings all over the staff, using their voices to play vocal chords, harmonies that always line up beautifully. These backup vocals are a key component that makes the group stand out, reminiscent of sounds of the I-Three, and original ’70s reggae. That vintage influence is coupled with modern techniques, as the band creatively combines many musical genres.
Their range of vocal styles are very impressive. Members sing in various styles. Some sing roots, some sing R&B, and at times there is overtones of hip-hop or American rock, but all with Hawaiian undercurrents.
The Green has wisely assembled their band as well. A lead singer, two full time guitars, keys, percussion, and a bass/synthesizer, all helps to create a full spectrum of sounds. However, like Will Ferrel needed more cow bell, The Green needs more horn. All the horn parts were played on the keys, but a dedicated horn player would be the exclamation point to the strong statement that is The Green!
The Fall is lining up to be an excellent touring season, with several impressive mash-ups of bands touring together. The Liars and Lovers Tour is no different. I would make it the tour to beat this fall as this is one tour fans must check out. It is the much anticipated chance for fans to finally see their underground favorites. Don’t miss The Green and Stick Figure!
The Green Set List:
Keep on Dub
Love I
Runaway Train
Rootsie Roots
Alone
Love Is Strong
Jah Love
Come In
Dearest Sylvia
Never
Decisions
Alive
She Was The Best
What Will Be Will Be
Hana Hou (encore):
Ways & Means
Good Vibration
Wake Up (special request)
Love & Affection
Gotta Be
Stick Figure Set List:
Melt Down
Vibes Alive
Thick & Thin
We Get High
Breathe
Fight the Feeling
Hawaii Song
Dead End Street
Shelter
Break of Day
Livin’ It
Article By: Aaron Solomon
