The Heavy hit hard at the Showbox

The answer to the question posed by The Heavy’s biggest single, “How You Like Me Now?,” should be pretty obvious  after the band’s recent stop at Showbox at the Market.

In case you weren’t there, allow me to provide the answer for you. You like The Heavy.

Why do you like The Heavy?

Well, it could be because the U.K. band’s brand of soul-infused rock simply slayed a sparsely populated Showbox on a cool November evening. Or maybe it’s because of the infectious smile and charisma of singer Kelvin Swaby whose stage presence packs about as powerful a punch as the group’s R&B-skeletoned songs? No wait, you like The Heavy for the way they delightfully demolish crowds in a dance-friendly manner.

Really though, I’m pretty sure you like The Heavy for all of the above reasons and more.

The band’s electrifying 70-minute Showbox set was, um, heavy with material from last year’s The House That Dirt Built with a few tracks from 2007’s Great Vengeance and Furious Fire thrown in for good measure. “Sixteen” was a fun romp through forbidden love. “No Time” was as garagey and bluesy as it is on record and the soulful groove of  “What You Want Me To Do” provided enough of a boogie to get the laziest of feet on the dancefloor moving.

As if all that weren’t enough the best part about the band’s set was that it was fun, and really isn’t that reason enough to like The Heavy?

About Travis Hay

Travis Hay is a music journalist who has spent the past 20 years documenting and enjoying Seattle's music scene. He's written for various outlets including MSN Music, the Seattle-Post Intelligencer, Seattle Weekly, Pearl Jam's Ten Club, Crosscut.com and others.

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