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Podcast FeedL Shape Lot Romps and Stomps Azalea Fest
A hometown favorite and annual festival highlight. Photos by Josh Parker.
Wilmington - Azalea Fest is always a good time. There’s food, there’s music, there’s a beer tent. If you come to Wilmington during Azalea Fest weekend, expect a ton of traffic and a ton of people. There is something for everyone, from an inflatable bouncy castle for children to complementary wine tasting for their parents. This year, some notable names at the festival were the Avett Brothers, Darius Rucker, and John McEnroe. Downtown was buzzing, and masses of people were out in the sun enjoying the near-perfect weather.
Before the show even began, I liked this band. When I arrived for our interview earlier in the day, I saw a hardworking and friendly band looking forward to sharing their music. I saw a singer concerned with getting the names of the bartenders right so he could thank them personally during the show. I saw a band that actually liked one another and the music they were making. They were a group of guys that wanted to play, even if no one was watching. That’s my kind of band.
At 8:30, in the upstairs of the Soapbox Laundro Lounge, I was concerned that the event schedule for Azalea Fest, along with the impending nighttime thunderstorm, was going to detract from my first time seeing L Shape Lot. There was only one other person in the venue, and I decided that it was time for a $5 flavored vodka drink: vanilla with ginger ale, please.
L Shape Lot started its first of two sets around 9:30 to a rapidly-filling room. Miller also admitted to concerns that the venue would not be full. L Shape Lot was originally supposed to play the downstairs stage, which allows for a more intimate performance to less people. But alas, pop/rock band You Hang Up, whose drummer is Frankie Muniz of Malcolm in the Middle fame, had to cancel at the last minute, leaving a large room upstairs for the taking. And it’s a good thing - in a matter of an hour, the room was packed.
L Shape Lot’s first hour was a full-band acoustic set. The moment vocalist Eric Miller took the stage, he kicked off his flip-flops and began the tune “Oh Me Oh My Sweet Baby,” which brought the crowd to the stage and got everyone’s feet stomping. I immediately noticed the talent of guitarist Alex Lanier. His playing was fast, clean, and energetic. Bassist Rick Williams played a 5-string upright bass with ease. The performance of veteran drummer John Kovalski was flawless. By the end of the first song, the crowd was hungry for more. This Wilmington favorite took it all in with humility. “We really appreciate y’all clappin’ and shit,” said Miller. “It makes us feel better about ourselves.”
L Shape Lot has been around for a long time. Friends for ten years and a full band for eight, this band has had time to develop their own unique sound. Bringing influences from very different backgrounds, L Shape Lot’s music is beyond genre definition. Vocalist Eric Miller wanted to be a rapper until he picked up a guitar at age 20. Alex Lanier was a self-proclaimed metalhead. John Kovalski had been playing polka in a band since he was nine years old. Trying to imagine how these genres mesh into a single band is an impossible feat, but picture this: textbook four-part vocal harmonies, the grit of bluegrass, the soul of country, the heart of Americana, and the fun of pop/rock, all played with a smile and sense of humor. It is hard to ask for more in a live band. I pause to ask you, dear reader, how is this band unsigned?
The set continued with a cover of Hank Williams’ “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry,” before which Miller suggested, “Squeeze a butt during this song.” One couple actually came toward the stage and did just that. I took a chance to observe the diverse crowd during the instrumental ditty “Blackberry Blossom.” While guitarist Lanier shredded his acoustic guitar like I’ve never seen an acoustic 
guitar shredded, I was reminded of a time-tested fact: white people, especially drunk white people, cannot dance. As lightning lit up the skies of downtown Wilmington, L Shape Lot kept the crowd from noticing anything beyond how much fun they were having, poor dancing be damned.
L Shape Lot took a ten-minute break to transition into their electric set and smoke a cigarette or two. The second set was, believe it or not, even higher in energy than the first. They began their set with “Cry Cry Cry,” a favorite Johnny Cash song of mine. The crowd continued to grow and surge, drinking more and making the evening all the merrier. The band played more originals and covers, including “Dead Flowers” by the Rolling Stones and the traditional bluegrass tune “Fox on the Run.”
My favorite song of the evening was a new L Shape Lot tune called “Cold,” an atmospheric and distinctive song about lost love. Haunting in its poignancy, with a simplistic chorus repeating, “She’s so cold, cold, cold,” this song stuck with me long after the show ended. Miller claimed that the song was 
“not about anyone in particular,” on stage, but I find that hard to believe. He admitted that in his songwriting, “Sometimes you can say things that you can’t say in real life. Some stories are very personal. I’m really pouring my heart out.” If indeed the tale told within the song was pure fiction, Miller should be writing books along with managing a busy band schedule.
L Shape Lot played until about 12:30 A.M. and could have kept playing. Even though most of the people in the venue had been drinking beer and eating deep-fried Twinkies all day, they were energized and inspired by the evening, myself included
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It is safe to say that Wilmington loves L Shape Lot. Go see this band. And bring your dancing shoes.
Originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Logan has been a lover of music since she can remember her own existence. Finally, realizing a dream of joining a touring band and seeing most of the world from 2001-2006, Logan has experienced the live music scene from the inside out. With a B.A. in English Literature from the University of North Carolina Asheville, Logan is also a lover of the written word. Favorite activities include reading a good book and blasting her car stereo to unhealthy volumes while singing along to her current musical obsessions.
