Concert Reviews ~ Ryan Montbleau Band

Ryan Montbleau Band ~ December 12, 2008 ~ High Fidelity ~ Rochester, NY

Words and Photos by Joe Koch

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So I started the night looking for Elvis Presley; being that he was listed on the guest list? But, as members of the Bleau Crew swiftly filled the club, I became surrounded by twenty-something-year-olds drinking themselves into a state of hippie oblivion. So when the girl to the left of me, swigging out of her flask, dropped her wine glass, I knew this was going to be a long night. I already had to sit through a weak opening act. I'm getting too old for this.

But then James Cohen placed himself behind his drums and started an intro on his snare, allowing the rest of the band to emerge on stage. Then, surprisingly, a hat-less Ryan appeared standing at the mic with his signature stool behind him. I've never seen him perform while standing. They started the night with a blast, jumping into Paul McCartney's "Let em' In." That led into "Stretch," a track off of their critically-acclaimed release One Fine Color, which the crowd was more than cooperative as they sang in unison with Ryan: "Open up my eyes and tell me about these lies I've been telling."

Ryan Montbleau

As he crooned through "Honeymoon eyes" and "Waiting," the crowd restlessly screamed for the danceable favorite "75 and Sunny." But first we got a taste of the self explanatory "Quickie," which allowed Matt Gianarros' skills to shine as he slapped and plucked his upright four-string. For those in the front row who had been looking at the set list in front of Laurence Scudder (viola), they knew they were one song ("Maybe Today") away from the anticipated "75 and Sunny." Finally, Ryan strummed the intro and sang "I had a bad night, I mean not so bad I thought I was king of the world. And I drank till daylight, I mean I never stopped once until my hands fell."

The song ignited hippie dancing as girls swirled each other and guys raised their drinks showing approval. This ended the first set and unfortunately my night, because most of the songs that I came to hear were set for the second half.

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