I consider myself a very lucky person when it comes to being able to see tons of great live music.  Sometimes, such as last night, I find myself hopping from venue to venue to see various bands I’ve written about, and of course, being surprised by bands that have not yet caught my attention.  After catching the early show at Mercury Lounge with Memphis (Torquil Campbell of Stars and Chris Dumont) and The Barr Brothers, I hopped on the J and made my way to Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn for Snowblink and Timber Timbre (pronounced Timber Tamber).

First on the evening was American-born, Canadian-based band of brothers, The Barr Brothers.  Their set was absolutely stunning, their constant back and forth in conversation and music between lead vocalist Brad Barr and harp-wielder Sarah Page reminded me of an ‘anything you can do I can do better’ situation.  Next at Mercury was a band we filmed with earlier that day, Memphis.  While they’ve been releasing music under this moniker for years, I was just exposed to Torquil Campbell and Chris Dumont’s project a few weeks ago.  Their set last night was pretty much exactly what I was expecting.  A tight, well-composed collection of songs with Campbell’s distinct ‘smooth as molasses’ vocals acting as the driver behind Dumont’s well arranged melodies.  Campbell’s stage presence is something to note.  It’s as if he was born on the stage, and clearly lives for the interactions and connections he makes with the crowd.  At one point, he even went as far as to compliment someone’s shirt in the front row.

After Memphis’ set (and a quick pitstop for some Indian food), I headed to Glasslands for Snowblink and Timber Timbre.  I was met by what seemed to be a bloggers convention as my friends from I Guess I’m Floating and Stadiums and Shrines were both in attendance.  Glasslands is well known for it’s DIY setup, yet with their new redesign, it’s as if they’ve finally shed the stigmas of the ‘DIY scene’.  It’s still moody as hell with clouds above the stage and a teddy bear head mounted on the wall, yet there’s a newfound official-ness to the space that I am really liking.

Both Snowblink and Timber Timbre were absolutely stunning.  Daniela Gesundheit and Dan Goldman of Snowblink started the set by handing out small bells to the audience, which were used during a few of their songs.  I am a huge fan of their music, finding it irresistibly soothing, yet something about the crowd last night wasn’t right.  Standing in the back of the venue, I could barely hear vocals. This put a slight damper on the evening, but didn’t seem to affect the band as they churned out one beautiful number after another.  If you have the chance to see them this summer, please don’t pass it up.  They’re amazing.

By the time Timber Timbre hit the stage, I was utterly exhausted.  Their songs were the perfect fit for the dark venue, and the crowd responded with delight to the reverb/percussion-heavy straightforward indie rock.  While they have pop sensibilities, their blend of rock n’ roll and the blues makes for a far more intense experience than nearly anything I’ve seen in recent history.  Think Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros with a handle of Jack and some painkillers.  I look forward to catching them again soon, but unfortunately, I doubt they’ll be playing such a small venue again.

The Barr Brothers

Memphis

Snowblink

Timber Timbre