On February 26th, the Oxford Theater was home to WUEC’s second Local Independence Showcase, boasting a broad cross-section of local bands. For only ten bucks (!), fans were treated to a massive six-hour show featuring (half of) Laarks, newcomers Wisconsin Built, The Heart Pills, Minneapolis’ The Small Cities, Meridene, and The Daredevil Christopher Wright. The night was hosted by Local Independence’s Scott Morfitt and Dave Smuhl, concessions served by local food advocacy group the Foodlums, and bike collective EC Velo brought along their Goldsprints setup. If you were looking for the highest bang-to-buck ratio, you were there. And if you weren’t, you missed out.

Laarks started out the show at 4 PM, substituting a drum machine for their traditional hard-hitting rhythm section of Brian Moen and Zach Hanson, which lent a subdued ambiance to their set. Next up was Wisconsin Built, followed by The Heart Pills, whose set included a hilarious version of their spoken-word Craigslist ode, “Missed Connections,” featuring gravelly guest vocals from Morfitt. Around 6 PM, Small Cities took the stage, showing off their hard-hitting Pedro the Lion influenced rock. Meridene proceeded, joined onstage by a five-piece horn section, adding a new dimension to their live show. Rounding out the show was The Daredevil Christopher Wright, making their triumphant return to Eau Claire. The Daredevil guys sounded outstanding, as always, and even managed to squeeze in a stunning rendition of my personal favorite, “Stewardess.” All in all, the night was a major success for WUEC, and for the EC music scene in general.