Glitterer Electrifies the Crowd At 29th Street Ballroom

Jonathan Marin

Music Journalist

AUSTIN, TX- Glitterer took the stage at 29th Street Ballroom on February 12^th. Hot off the heels of their 5^th album “erer” their continental tour finally landed in Austin. With them, the talented acts Graham Hunt and Prize Horse, whose styles were certain to complement Glitterer’s melodic yet hard-hitting style, creating a cohesive and reverberating endeavor that would resonate with fans for times to come.

Prize Horse is a 3-piece unit from Minneapolis that, despite their only 3 members, made more than enough noise to soothe even the most veteran of pedal-heads. Frontman Jake Beitel shone through despite the wall of sound with passionate, raw vocals that were supplemented by the backup vocals of Bassist Olivia Johnson. Their 2024 release “Under Sound” was on full display, the highlight track “Further from My Start” being a moving piece of post hardcore that blew me away live. Prize Horse was a remarkable experience from the opener spot, and the tone had been set for the night to come.

Solo artist Graham Hunt and his backing band worked as the perfect bridge between the heavier noises of Prize Horse and the lush sounds of Glitterer. “Timeless World Forever” is their latest project and was such a remarkable first listen, with catchy hooks, complex melodies, and clever instrumentation. All of these aspects translated off the record and into Graham Hunt’s live performance in such a special way.

The smile painted on the crowd’s faces was hard to ignore. The band felt like such a cohesive unit, providing backup vocals that added to Graham’s electric use of choruses all the more. “Robot World” shone through in the setlist, a mixture of Midwest emo and 90’s alternative that emphasized the band’s talents in the best ways.  The performance clearly made many fans. If they didn’t know Graham Hunt, now they know.

The excitement for Glitterer was palpable. The cult of Ned Russin has been consistent over the course of a decade, and they were clearly out in numbers today as the Paper Tiger was about as full as it had been the whole night. The set opened with the band’s staple song “The Race,” which was an ideal choice, as the crowd became increasingly amped throughout the song.

The setlist was a solid mix of new and old for the band, with the new album, of course, on display, but classics such as “1001” and “Digging in the Trash” satisfied old-school fans who had been with the band since the beginning. New songs like “New Mattress” huge sound erupted through Paper Tiger with brute force. “Interpretation is as real as ownership.” This lyric off of “Who Owns This Mountain? “cut like a knife. It’s a song that shows off the emotional complexities of the band. The classic Ned Russin stage presence was on full display as the energy was never lacking on stage through every single song. “Stainless Steel” capped off the breathtaking performance with an emotional undertone a crowd on. Glitterer’s commanding presence was felt until the eventual walk off on the stage, capping off a show full of intensity and electrifying music.