Rachael's Birthday Bash @ The Delancey 6/2

Saturday night was one of those nights that I will remember for as long as I live. For the first time since my small birthday bash on Staten Island last year I threw a show by myself, but this was no ordinary show. No folks, this show was to celebrate the birth of my wonderful girlfriend Rachael. It was because of this that I fretted for weeks over bands, locations, set times, DJ's, special guests, and all those other little details you forget when putting together a show.

The night started off slowly, with a set by 2/5 of A Brief Smile. Much more sedate than their full on incarnation, the two member band wowed the early arrivals with some quieter versions of A Brief Smile classics and a cover or two. It was a short set but one that furthered my already high opinion of this nascent band and the promise that they certainly show.

Next up was the current Swedish phenom Mr. Pelle Carlberg. Before Saturday night I had only caught a couple of Pelle's tunes off of his myspace page, but after seeing what he and his bass playing, box kicking compadre could do I will be making sure to get myself his album ASAP. His set was positively charming from the get go, as his soothing voice and long song titles humored us all and made us swoon over the music coming from the duo. Pelle also tried his hand at a couple of covers including a cover of one of Rachael's favorite artists Mikah.

The Antlers played their first show with a full band right after Pelle left the stage, picking up the pace for a night that was becoming more memorable with each step it took. I've said it before, but Peter's voice does something to my insides. I've heard people comparing it to Jeff Buckley's and I have to say the comparison is pretty dead on. With each not that comes out of his warbling voice I fall deeper and deeper into a trance, till I reach the point where all I want to hear is another song from The Antlers. As a full band they shined even brighter than the couple of times I've caught Peter doing his solo thing. Each member of the band complements the music, enhancing it and pushing it to another level. Their 30 minute set was absolutely breath taking from start to finish.

Wakey! Wakey! had the unfortunate task of following up The Antlers brilliance, but did so with remarkable dexterity. He too was showing off a fuller band, with himself, a bassist, and a drummer. The resulting show was moving, as Mike sings with a ferocity that is rarely matched. The band plowed through their set, breaking for brief moments to wish Rachael a happy birthday and to chat for second or two with the crowd.

Before Seth Kallen and the Reaction could take over we were treated to a surprise performance by Tally Hall. The brand new Atlantic Recording artists wowed us with a couple of covers before joining Seth and company on stage for a couple of songs together. Just the sight of Tally Hall on stage made Rachael giddy with excitement, and seeing her face for those moments made the night so special for me. After Tally Hall exited the stage Seth and the Reaction took over with a wonderful, though shortened set. It was my first time seeing Seth perform and I was completely wowed by his verve on stage, and by his band mates' abilities.


The evening finished with Jukebox the Ghost, an up and coming band form DC that is poised to make some noise the rest of this year. Those guys use a mixture of They Might Be Giants and Ben Folds to positively wow audiences and tonight was no different. The trio were on top of their game, playing the tunes off their new EP and even getting a big jam band together to play The Beatles version of "Happy Birthday".

All my work and effort really paid off thanks to some terrific performances, an amazing crowd, and some wonderful people that helped out a ton in getting the night together. I would be a real ass if I didn't thank some of the people that had a hand in getting the show together, so in no particular order I'd like to thank all the bands for tremendous performances, Nora for being a terrific DJ, Dana for being so amazing in planning the whole event, Seth for getting Jukebox and Tally Hall to come play, Tally Hall for showing up and playing out of the blue, Mike for being an awesome bartender all night long, Clyde for offering up Pelle's services, and to everyone that made it out to The Delancey last night. We'll have to do this again real soon!!!