The Fire — 1.19.23: Alyssa Garcia, Jason McCue, Emospacebird., Hue Hinton, Goldmine, and Seth Witcher

The Fire, that boxey little bastard of a dive on 4th & Girard, with the adjacent intimate stage was LIT UP by these passionate acts on a chilly January evening.

Of those listed, Seth Witcher didn’t perform, but he put together the show and is a very talented artist in his own right. Between these acts, you can jump into about ten different genres — piano ballads & jazz-pop (Alyssa Garcia), alt indie, acoustic folk (Jason McCue), indie grunge, alt-pop(?) (Emospacebird), hip-pop (Hue Hinton), hip-hop (Goldmine) emo pop, pop punk (Seth Witcher).

Be sure to check them out wherever you stream music!

Alyssa Garcia

We’ve highlighted Alyssa here before! Check that article out after scrolling through the other artists below!

Big fan and particularly love “Running” “Isn’t It Lonely” and “Better Life” amongst others!

Jason McCue

Probably one of the best guitarists I’ve seen live in my lifetime. I’m no guitar aficionado but I know a good plucker when I see one. I’ve written a few times before that it’s hard for a white guy with an acoustic guitar to make it interesting on stage, but Jason McCue does so with ease. He varies his melodies and acoustic arrangements, sometimes reminiscent of Oasis, other times Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens). Thoroughly enjoyed his performance.

Emospacebird.

Very fun performance from the whole band which included two guitars, bass, and a barefoot drummer. The guitar pickups switch nearly tune to tune. It’s a talented group of musicians that are led by the one they call Emospacebird. The set was a mix between bluesy garage rock, grunge, and punk. To label Emospacebird. with one genre would not do the music justice!

I had to skip out on the last two acts were Hue Hinton & Goldmine. Hinton does a little bit of everything—his first YouTube result is a clean hip-hop track, but his live performance was cymbal-heavy, down and dirty, in which he covers “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Beatles with enough energy to blush McCartney, and “Everlong” by The Foo Fighters. Goldmine is more traditional hip-hop, definitely influenced by the “golden” age, along with other artists and eras I’m sure, but it’s making me wonder if that’s where half his name came from.

But apparently, the two have a song together!

Hue Hinton

I had to check him out after missing the show and this may be one of my favorite local albums in recent memory. I’ve always been a massive fan of artists that jump genres, whether it’s on an album-by-album or song-by-song basis, but to make an album sound cohesive, while jumping genres, is pretty damn cool.

“Out Loud” is a fun listen.

Goldmine

This is old school hip-hop, a dying breed. He’s got flow. He’s got bars. He’s got stage presence. It’s a matter of breaking through in an oversaturated genre, but bars are back, baby!!

Seth Witcher

Last but not least, Allentown transplant, Seth Witcher, who put the show together and very unselfishly let himself off the bill.

That being said, he would’ve been a great fit! Seth brings a ton of energy to a genre that absolutely requires it. He’s got riffs that grab, a voice that carries, and an inflection that fits the feel. Like, every other artist on the bill, there’s definitely some radio-worthy tunes in his early arsenal.