Over the past couple of days Dan, Paul, and I have been to a couple of great performances of friends’ bands.
The first was The Nepotist, an alternative blues band fronted by our friend and co-worker Chris Frank. He and the rest of the band are so talented its outrageous. They played at Rockwood Music Hall, a little venue in the LES, and took the place down with a lethal dose of soul and sex.
Next up was Great Caesar, another incredible band fronted by another friend and coworker, John-Michael Parker. Where The Nepotist was gritty and smooth (can those ideas co-exist?), GC was a vibrant party. They opened the show from the back of the room, with JMP leading the band through the audience as they all played a jamming congo beat. By the time they reached the stage, we were all eating out of their hands.
It’s impossible to go to these things and not think of Al Dente – from actual staging decisions like the conga line to a constant mental refrain of “WTF WE NEED TO BE UP THERE!!”
Seriously grateful to have such inspiring and talented dudes like Chris and JMP in our orbit.