Seeing I'm From Barcelona again last Friday, I had a wish that every show should be this fun. As far a performance goes, it was the same show and antics from last year's Southpaw show. Just a few new tracks were added into the mix. What makes it special was that despite packing 20 musicians onto the modest Maxwell's stage, that situation worked to the band's advantage. When you have that many people in a 200-capacity venue, you just grab onto the stranger next to you and hope nobody gets hurt.
You're probably wondering how they crammed all those Swedes on that stage. Easily, milk crates. A few members decided to duct tape their feet onto some milk crates, making makeshift stilts. Then everyone crowds around six or so microphones, puts their arms around each other and gives the crowd a show for the ages. It's hard to tell who had more fun, the crowd or them. Let's call it a tie.
I knew going in that it was going to be free for all with balloons, confetti and laughter. Their show was like being in the ball room at Chuck E. Cheese for an hour and some change. By the end of the show just after midnight, there were still balloons being knocked around and the floor had an inch of confetti scattered around. After a while, you get used to getting knocked in the head with a balloon repeatedly.
I've mentioned before that Emanuel Lundgren's band of merry makers are the musical equivalent of Up With People. Barcelona is not really about the Spanish city, but about a state of mind. The name actually comes from a joke from Faulty Towers. In any event, it's all about positivity, having fun, forgetting your troubles and embracing your inner-child. Plus, you can indulge in acting silly during their show. It's great how everyone joined in on the fun and jumped around the whole floor. It's also nice to see some familiar characters from the band making the return trek.
The new material is similar to their debut, catchy pop tunes and large choruses. Their sophomore album is in the works.
This is my third time seeing local band, Wakey! Wakey! and they are improving with each show. Like any new band, they are believing in themselves and the music is coming together nicely. The Wakeys have become our little children in the New York blogger community. We root for their success and do what we can to get their name out there. The reason being is that make good music and it deserves to be heard. I've realized that their music is all about New York life, so maybe that's a reason we've taken to them.
The Bloodsugars are on Engine Room Recordings, which is run by my boy and fellow blogger Wes. Their music sounds like if Joe Jackson fronted an 80s synth-pop band that was formed in an arcade. Interesting enough, the name of the band comes from leader Jason's diabetes. So if I had a band, I'd call it Pollen Attack.
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