This week, the beloved San Jose band Leer play their final show, not in San Jose, but six hours away in Pomona. Why? “A lot of people like us in the general Pomona-SoCal area, maybe more so than the Bay Area at times,” says Dan Vo, Leer’s guitarist and primary songwriter.
He’s not wrong. Though they’re certainly loved locally, the first time Leer left San Jose to play in Southern California, they made a huge impression.
“I remember just being amazed by the energy of that show,” says Carina Taylor, an illustrator/animator from Long Beach. “It was one of my first experiences with DIY. I didn’t even know at the time that Leer was from San Jose. I was just impressed by everyone who was at that show and was like, ‘Oh, this is why people care about music so much.’”
Matt Gomez, of Pomona-based emo-punk band Winter Break, remembers the show similarly. “I remember kind of a silence after they played. Everyone at the show had their jaw dropped, like ‘What did I just see?’”
Spring Break No Parents by Leer
San Jose bands have it rough, and few ever make it out of the South Bay to play for others, due to long drives, lack of local venues, and living in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. But Leer proved the exception. Though they only released one full length, 2013’s Spring Break No Parents, Leer managed to rethink the tonal boundaries of screamo music by largely playing in major keys, and incorporating a slew of Japanese influences. They toured often and even released a split with Tokyo rockers PENS+, bringing them on their first ever American tour. And listeners took note.
“I saw people on message boards and shit talking about them in like Texas, East Coast,” says Shannon Taylor, a San Jose musician known for her bands Bread Club and Jr. Adelberg. She describes Leer’s album release show as “one of the most amazing shows I’ve ever been to in my entire life.”
Leer play their final Bay Area show at an undisclosed house on June 23. Reach out to the band on Facebook for details at facebook.com/LeerSJ.
Leer
Jun 23
House Show
.Leer Play Farewell Shows
