H/T to our friend Spike Jordan a freelance photographer and journalist based in Western Nebraska. He is a graduate of Chadron State College. He can be reached at spikejordan2008@gmail.com
Roughly 50 patrons lined up last Saturday evening on the sidewalk outside Casper’s Sonic Rainbow CD’s. The doors were set to open at 8 p.m., and the crowd nervously checked their cell-phones, chain-smoked, and paced back and forth.
As Sonic Rainbow employee Joe Eason unlocked the door, the fans filed in to the back of the record store and found a place to stand. After six-months in gestation, Speed the Pilgrim’s new album, Calvin, was finally ready to be released onto the waiting public. The album’s title comes from the ghost who is said to haunt the band’s practice space at the Pink Tiger Galleria.
The show began at around 8:30 p.m. with opening act Bijoux, a solo electronic project by Adolescent Behavior bassist Annie Wheeler.
h/t Spike Jordan
Donning mirrored sunglasses and hiding behind an impressive wall of sound, Wheeler performed a number of original compositions with swirling synths and heavy trap and future-pop beats. Along with a tasteful cover of Canadian duo Purity Ring’s “Push Pull,” (which almost sounded like a “The Knife” b-side), Wheeler’s influences for this project are apparent. My only critique was that her vocals were a touch too quiet for my taste, but nothing that would detract from her performance overall.
After a brief intermission, sound-check, and introduction from Sonic Rainbow’s Brandon Schulte, Speed the Pilgrim appeared from the record store’s back room and began playing through the record. As the first song echoed through the store, the Sonic Rainbow staff dropped the lights, leaving only the ambiance of red and blue lamps clipped to the PA stands and a “Schlitz Light Beer” sign resting on top of an amplifier. 
I’d recognized a few of the new songs from the set the band performed in Medicine Bow on Aug. 1, along with the music video single for “Dimestore,” filmed by Speed’s keyboardist Chase Gillins and starring Six Gun Dead drummer Patrick Iverson as a suit-wearing hitchhiker. However, it was pleasant to experience the new songs performed in such an intimate setting.
Around the third or fourth song, it was announced that guitarist Andy John will be leaving the band in a few weeks to pursue a graduate degree in entomology. On the last song of the set, guitarist and lead vocalist Josh Wolfson asked that the audience give a heartfelt “we love you Andy,” but the seriousness of the moment was quickly interrupted by a random dog wandering onto the stage; someone behind me shouted, “This is Andy’s last show in Casper, and the dog’s first show with the band.”
I tried capturing most of the set on video, but getting the individual videos worked-up and uploaded is a bit time-consuming. While all of the songs on the “Calvin” are solid, my personal favorite so far is “Warpaint.”
You can pick up a copy of “Calvin” in Casper at Sonic Rainbow, or buy a digital download from speedthepilgrim.bandcamp.com. While the record is great, Speed the Pilgrim is a band that is best enjoyed live.
If you missed the release show in Casper, you have one last opportunity to catch Andy John’s final performance with the band in Laramie on Aug 28.