The Shiny Toy Guns’ Season of Poison tour made a stop in Fresno on Oct. 2, marking their last month of an international tour, stopping all over America, Canada, and England. The Shiny Toy Guns were founded in Shawnee, Oklahoma in 2002 by Jeremy Dawson (bassist/keyboardist) and Chad Petree (vocalist/guitarist). And since their formation they have soared to the top.
They have had four songs in the top 30 of the US Modern Rock Charts (Le Disko in 2006, You Are the One in 2007, Rainy Monday in 2007, and Ricochet! in 2008), and in 2007 were nominated for a Grammy Award for their album We Are Pilots.
The blends of their melodic voices, synthesizers, and pop rock beats have created a sound unlike any other, and their creative lyrics make them even more unique.
Over the course of six years, The Shiny Toy Guns have won the hearts of millions of fans not only all over America, but across Canada and the UK as well.
“I’ve built a strong relationship with a lot of the strongest agents throughout the U.S.” says Tim Gardea, the promoter for this concert, “I booked [The Shiny Toy Guns] at the Exit because it’s the only all ages venue in town.”
Gardea, who has been promoting shows for upwards of 15 years, said he does it because he’s “always been a big fan of music.” Gardea gets the word out about his shows using many popular websites. “Myspace is a major part of my marketing, along with radio, canvassing, and newspaper print.”
Anybody who has been to The Exit understands how intimate the venue is for a concert.
The place is very small, and when bands such as The Shiny Toy Guns attract such a large audience the crowd is very compacted.
At the concert everyone was standing shoulder to shoulder, but that didn’t stop many people from dancing to the music.
The names of the three opening bands weren’t made very public, but they were all very talented. One of the opening bands, White Apple Tree, was a three man band with hardly any lyrics, but a great sound.
Many people had to leave the room during White Apple Tree’s performance due to their strobe light effect infused with their keyboardist’s playing. Though the effect was exciting, it was too much for most people to handle and they had to choose to enjoy the music from afar.
The Shiny Toy Guns played an incredible one hour set and included songs off of their new album. The band also included some old songs such as Don’t Cry Out, and Le Disko.
The Shiny Toy Guns just took on a new singer, Sisely Treasure, who replaced Carah Faye Charnow. Even though she hasn’t been a part of The Shiny Toy Guns since the beginning, Treasure was able to sing the songs very well.
All in all their performance and music were great, and they definitely were able to make the most of the tiny space they were performing in.
