Hungry Kids of Hungary- The Final Escapade Tour

After surviving moving yesterday afternoon and getting some unpacking done, I headed out for the evening to meet up with Mary at the Hi-Fi Bar to see Hungry Kids of Hungary.  When I arrived Andy Bull was nearing the end of his set.  I would have been there earlier if I knew he was going to be second on the bill.  The next band was The Chemist, who played a solid set.  I recognized some of their songs from when I saw them play last year.  Highlights included "Lullaby #1," End of July," "Things Have Changed" and the very rock ending to their set which included an extended jam that kept going and going.

Hungry Kids of Hungary entered the stage to death metal, which was quite funny.  They bravely started their set with a new song before launching into "Scattered Diamonds."  It was great to hear some of my favorites off Escapades including "China Will Wait," "Wristwatch," and "Coming Around."  Besides another new song, we were also treated to "Last Waltz," a song they did with Andy Bull.  As a side note, I think Dean and Andy had a little inside joke going on with their matching rolled up pants and boat shoes.  The last song of the main set was an energetic "Let You Down."  As is tradition, the encore began with a cover- this time it was Smashing Pumpkins' "1979."  The final song of the night was their first big single "Set It Right."  After this tour finishes the boys will disappear for a while to start working on material for their next album.  I'm glad they have had so much success with Escapades and are really building up a following in Australia.

Boy & Bear- Blood to Gold Tour

Tonight I headed over to The East Brunswick Club for the second of three sold out shows by Boy & Bear.  The first opening act for the evening was Passenger, aka UK singer/songwriter Mike Rosenberg.  He was great to watch and listen to, with both funny and moving folk songs played on acoustic guitar.  His latest album Flight of the Crow has him collaborating with assorted Australian artists, including Boy & Bear, who came out and joined him to sing "Shape of Love" without mics from the middle of the floor.  He did a fantastic cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" and had the crowd singing along at the end of his set to "Holes."  Next up was Perth alternative band The Chemist.  They had the song title of the night with "Heaven's Got a Dress Code."  Highlights of their set included the songs "Lullaby #1" and "When the Morning Comes."

It's exciting to see the word spreading about Boy & Bear and how popular they have become.  They opened with "The Storm" and then went into their latest single "Blood to Gold."  The set was a mix of songs from With Emperor Antarctica and new ones they have written, which are these amazing, epic numbers.  All of the bands came onto the stage to sing a cover of Bon Iver's "Flume."  Other highlights of the night were "Rabbit Song" and "Mexican Mavis" with its extended intro.  I absolutely love this band and their harmonies are just so beautiful and uplifting that you can't help but walk away feeling inspired after seeing them perform.

Here's the video for "Blood to Gold"