Show Review:: The Long & Winding Roadshow 11/7

Nick Santino, This Century, Brian Marquis, Austin Gibbs, Brennan Smiley of The Technicolors
Santos Party House – New York, New York
Friday, November 7th, 2014

Arriving at Santos Party House in New York City for Nick Santino & the Northern Wind, I was surprised to find a moderately small venue, not too obvious from the side of the street. It was a comfortable atmosphere, full of dedicated fans and intoxicated people who came for a good time.

And it was a great time, with Brennan Smiley of The Technicolors opening the show. His impressive high notes stood out, along with his dedication to the rhythm. He was into every song he played, which was apparent through his dance moves to each beat that encouraged the audience to dance along. By the end of his set, he was requested to play one extra song. Stumped on what to play, he said “let’s end it on a sad note,” and played a mellow song that continued to pump up the crowd because of what a powerful musician he was.

After Brennan left the stage, Austin Gibbs came on right away, another powerful musician. He elevated the audience’s engagement even further by asking them questions and getting them involved. Someone from the crowd shouted “yeet,” which entailed an interesting banter about Gibbs’ lack of knowledge of the definition of yeet. When he wasn’t making comical comments, his music consisted of a mix of upbeat and sadder songs, but his energy was strong throughout, making the audience dance and laugh through the entirety of the set.

With very short intermission times, Brian Marquis took the audience’s attention shortly after. He played his acoustic guitar with a harmonica strapped to his neck, which immensely added to his performance. When he was thoroughly into a guitar solo, he would step away from the mic and his entire body would get thoroughly into the rhythm of the song.

This Century had a remarkable performance. With two members of the band, Joel Kanitz and Sean Silverman, contributing to the acoustic show, they had a strong vibe throughout their set. Joel had two mics set up in the front, one he would beat box into and create harmonies, and then he would record it and put it on loop, while he sang into the second mic. It was an intriguing idea, something I have not seen done often. His angelic voice was captivating to the entire crowd who sang along to every song. A keyboard was also employed which added to the atmosphere to the set in a positive way. They had lots of contributors that played along with them, such as Austin Gibbs, Brennan Smiley, and a woman named Julia (who was not associated with any particular act, though, she had also played with Nick Santino).

Nick Santino’s performance was lively and energetic. Though some songs were sad, the audience was enthusiastic through every moment and sang along as much as they possibly could. Nick had a smile on his face throughout the set which was uplifting to see.

The acoustic show was very mellow but thoroughly exciting. Each band that played had a great attitude and played astounding music. The audience seemed to have a stupendous time, as did I. I would thoroughly recommend checking any and all of the bands on this tour out the next time they come to your area.

–
Photos and review by Sara Barber.