Slow Hollows' Not So Slow Night at the Ché Café

Los Angeles-based indie rock band Slow Hollows transformed the Ché Café from a normal music venue into an intimate garage party last Friday night, supported by local San Diego artist TEMPOREX.

Slow Hollows gained popularity after guitarist and lead singer Austin Feinstein’s previous collaborations with Bon Iver, Frank Ocean, and Tyler, the Creator. A good-sized crowd was gathered in the venue that night, tightly packed together around all sides of the stage to hear Feinstein, drummer Jackson Katz, bassist Aaron Jassenoff, saxophonist Reed Kanter, and trumpet player/pianist Daniel Fox come together to play some great lo-fi, indie sound.

Before Slow Hollows took to the stage, Joseph Flores, known as TEMPOREX, warmed up the crowd at 8:00 p.m. It was not Flores’ first time at UCSD: last year, he also performed at the annual Sun God Festival, so everyone there was just as excited to see him as they were to see Slow Hollows.

Flores was accompanied on stage by only his laptop and his awkward but endearing dance moves, making the concert seem more like a group of friends having fun than a planned show. After the singer announced that this was his last show as an 18-year-old (he would be turning 19 only 4 hours later at midnight), the crowd sang him “Happy birthday, dear Joseph.” As the night continued, Flores even started to do a cover of Ne-Yo’s “Sexy Love,” before laughing it off because someone in the front row reacted with giving him “weird eyes.”

While most of Slow Hollows’ set was quite mellow, the band and audience fed on each other’s energy throughout the performance.

“Crank that shit,” said Feinstein. As a self-acknowledged shy boy who does not typically interact with the audience, it was surprising to hear Feinstein be so candid while speaking to his bandmates on stage.

The band played some of their well-loved classics, such as “Condition.” Nodding and swaying along, the audience in the Ché sang lyrics like “we have both got stories to tell / when it comes down to bare bone, I just hope your day goes well” along with Feinstein. The crowd only grew more animated as the band played a more upbeat song, “Spirit Week,” and a new song called “Two Seasons,” the last of three unreleased songs they performed that evening.

As the night came to a close, the young crowd put down film cameras and iPhones and rolled up their cargo pants, opening up the pit to mosh during the last few songs. A sweaty, rosy-cheeked Feinstein thanked the audience as he walked offstage and outside, where band members stuck around to sell T-shirts and converse with fans.

There was an air of camaraderie among fans at the Ché as they slowly trickled out of the venue, feeling satisfied and undoubtedly excited for the future of Slow Hollows and TEMPOREX alike.

Slow Hollows is set to play at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in Los Angeles on November 10 and 11.

Ej Bautista is a contributing writer to the Arts and Culture Section for The Triton.