Photo by Ian Hultquist

‘Twas a glorious lineup of music last night at Pianos with ARMS’ third night of their residency, joined by Inlets and Thunder and Lightning. Inlets‘ Sebastian Krueger started the night by taking the stage alone — Krueger told the audience,  he felt a bit weird, but all was exuded with ease, confidence and comfort. His set was beautiful, intimate, and therapeutic. He mastered his guitar with his eyes held tightly shut and sang true poetry, which left me hanging on every well chosen word. At times it felt we were drifting into his dream, with soothing lyrics like “I can read at night, in the outdoor light” and ”I like your famous looks, cause you shift with my scenic sway.”

Thunder and Lightning then took the stage & enthralled us with their adorable goodness. Having grown up in Charleston and recently lived in San Francisco, I was immediately confused/intrigued when their very first song was about, well… Charleston and San Francisco. The lyrics were obviously born from a fantastic imagination and filled with such incredible visual imagery with lines like — “the spanish moss is like an old man’s beard” and “her lipstick looked like blood and it was.” Their set was supremely joyful, riddled with such life and movement. I highly recommend checking out these fellas’ bandcamp to download their eleven track solid album Kangaroo Court and seeing them live real soonly.

ARMS then captivated the room with their undeniable intensity that’ll immediately capture the attention of any music-loving individual. This was my first time witnessing them live, and I was quite genuinely entranced. One of the very first things I noticed was drummer Tlacael Esparza, and his unwavering connection with his drum set. Simply put, he was in the zone.  You could hardly even see his hands at times because they were moving fast. He brought a unique unpredictability to the drums that I’d never really seen before and I so appreciated.

Todd Goldstein’s voice was beautifully haunting, one that you’d openly welcome and hope to hear in your fondest daydreams. Bassist Matty Fasano also contributed some notable vocals to the mix, and I believe upon first hearing his voice I whispered to my friend — “he sounds like an angel.” I still stand by that comment. Dave Harrington, who also played with Thunder and Lightning just prior, provided an impressive amount of skill by manning what I believe were three different keys/synth. ARMS provided us with a show I won’t soon forget, and by playing mostly all new songs, they gave us so very much to look forward to.

Pictures: ARMS / Thunder and Lightning / Inlets