The first time I saw this band was as an opening act for Flogging Molly, which was a show they did right before the release of their album "The Unmistakable Man". They were easily one of the best opening acts I had ever seen, so naturally I purchased the CD when it came out. Not only were the lyrics downright poetic, but they were also amazing able to capture the raw energy of their live show in the recording.
Since then, I have seen them anytime they were local and my schedule would allow. But the 5 song sets they were doing as an opening act were now just not cutting it for me anymore. So when they announced they would be headlining a show at the Stone Pony on the day before Thanksgiving, and realizing what would normally be an hour and a half drive from Philadelphia, could be significantly longer, I knew I would be doing a roadtrip on the busiest travel day of the year.
Totally worth it.
The band, playing in front of their home crowd, looked (and sounded) as if they were having the time of their lives.
In the situations when I had seen them as an opening act, everytime they would slowly win the crowd over, and by the time everyone was on board they were done, and there was a collective feeling from the crowd of :"What the hell just happened??!!! That was Awesome!" But playing in front of an audience that was already on board they just rocked out, and it really was amazing to witness.
Their energy, their sound, their unique style, all from the first song to the last song, just phenomenal. I have reached a point in my life, where I am too old to be standing in the middle of a general audience crowd, but the band was mesmerizing to a point where I was unable to stop that from happening. It took until about three quarters into the show for me to realize I was back in the middle of the madness.
Didn't matter. Totally worth it.
I normally gauge how good a concert was by my desire to listen to the band's music after I have just seen them. Since their show I have listened to their CD three times, and have checked the internet countless others for the next time I can see them.
See this band, buy their CD, get your own River City Extension addiction.
TOTALL WORTH IT!!!!!