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Durham’s own Hammer no More the Fingers rocked Duke Gardens last night. In what the trio said was, “the most intense set they had ever written” the band delivered their tightly coherent sound which runs the gamut from haunting, lilting, melodies to powerful guitar and bass riffs.

This range is what makes HNMTF so hard to pigeonhole. Their full breadth was on display as the band did a wonderful job adapting their hardcore downtown club ready music to the Duke Gardens environment and audience. The typically Durham crowd was all colors and all ages. The youngest enthusiastic dancers we saw couldn’t have been over twenty-four months, meanwhile there was plenty of head-bobbing in the fifty year-old set, and a mini-mosh pit of some of the bands most loyal teenage followers. The sound quality was excellent for an outdoor event.

The show had that personal Durham quality, that sets this place apart. Hammer no More the Fingers sent well-wishes to a friend and expectant Mom in the crowd, asked their roomies permission to mount a new golden hammer in the living room, handed out free ice cream, and admitted to having come together and written a song over their bonding days as Duke Hospital valet parkers. In a moment of levity, Duncan did sincerely hope that their old boss, Dave, was not in the audience. Cue nervous laughter.

It was feeling good times all around as the laid back crowd kicked back and enjoyed. The band draws comparisons to Umphrey’s McGee, RAQ and the Disco Biscuits but really transcends labels, as owners of their last album, Black Shark will attest. Check out the video to the first single, “Leroy,” here.

We saw (a) Jeff mosh with these cats...


Joe Hall, Jeff Stickley, and Duncan Webster are Hammer no More the Fingers...


Check out more pictures from the show here, at Scenes from my Lunch Hour...

Labels: Durham, music, Pop Culture