Prayer Breakfast mixes Indiana and indie rock

Local band Prayer Breakfast joined fellow national touring artists No Kids and Mount Eerie at an intimate concert in an unusual setting: the Banneker Community Center gymnasium.

“We love having shows here two to three times a year. It’s a good resource for recreation in the community as well as for events like this,” said Will Rose, after-school coordinator for the Banneker Community Center.

The band’s album is set around L.A. and Hollywood,  yet lead singer of No Kids Nick Krgovich said he enjoys playing in a different setting.

“There is something special about singing a song and looking up to see a basketball hoop,” he said.

Krgovich said he found influence from a wide spectrum – seeing a movie, reading a magazine article or reading about Judy Garland.

“When I was a kid, I visited Universal Studios a lot in L.A. The city had a weird character,” he said. “The feeling resonated strongly with me, and I felt it was worth investigating more.”

No Kids performed as the second act and alongside Mount Eerie, but alone they brought a low-tempo vibe, playing keyboards and drums.

Freshman Aaron Bragg said he thought No Kid’s album “Come Into My House” is telling a ritzy story.

“It is like listening to a soundtrack of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel,” he said.

Bragg added he has seen the opening act, Prayer Breakfast, a couple times.

“They sound very Indiana as an example of Hoosier music with twang and country in their voices, but still represent indie rock,” Bragg said.

Prayer Breakfast lead singer Mike Dixon said their album “Small American” was inspired by a photograph on the wall in the Indiana Memorial Union of a boy receiving a haircut.

“We all come from smaller towns in Indiana and migrated to Bloomington, but we all share a similar upbringing,” Dixon said.

Dixon added he has not played in a gymnasium in 10 years. But closing act Mount Eerie used the gymnasium to its advantage by asking three crowd members to join in on the last song by bouncing basketballs to the beat.

“When he performs, it sounds like if the trees in the woods are all fighting each other,” said freshman David Scofield. Mount Eerie, formally known as Phil Elverum, said he was influenced by Norwegian metal music.

Sophomore Ben Ullrich said he hoped Elverum would play some music from his previous band The Microphones but was not disappointed with his performance.

“I loved the change in tempo and how he can ease in and out of insane noises,” Ullrich said.