Every now and again I like to catch something that falls outside of my Metal and Hard Rock comfort zone and I say this for a couple of different reasons. The first is mainly because I do like much more than the stuff that I report about over on PiercingMetal and the second is because you get to enjoy the broader musical geography that is available to you in a city like New York. You might have heard me say this before in any number of music reviews, but this city is a cornucopia of absolutely amazing music to listen to and I suggest that you give some stuff a chance when possible.
That said I recently was invited by a friend of mine in the business to see his band called Harper’s Fellow. They are a Country Rock act for all intents and purposes and there is a lot of sweet vocal harmonies over tasty musical riffs. The four piece band is fronted by Cortney Metzler who sings most of the leads and plays acoustic guitar, Brendan Smith on bass, Eric Castellazzo on guitar and Alexander Ford who keeps it all in motion from the drum kit. The gig would be at The Bowery Electric which I have been to on a number of PiercingMetal adventures before but in the downstairs part of the club. Tonight’s Harper’s Fellow gig would be in the rear of the club’s main floor, a spot called the Map Room. It’s smaller for sure but seems an interesting spot to deliver ones music. The band set up quickly and was delivering their sweet and solid sounds faster than I expected but most of their supporters were in place which was a good thing. I had to say that I was liking what I heard and it was a definitely positive change of musical pace for me. They only performed about nine tunes which I have listed below and the ones that stood out the most for me was their “Cadillac” original and the cover of the Lumineers. Of course there were other highlights but I was very new to their material and had not yet locked in on as much of it as I would have liked. Cortney has a really nice voice and the rest of the guys bring this material to larger life with the harmonies that they add in. Though I was a newcomer, I was finding my foot tapping more often than it was not and if I caught onto a particular chorus I sang along at a much lower volume so’s not to have people wondering where the dying animal was 🙂 (I’m kidding of course).
Suffice it to say I was enjoying every moment of it and can safely recommend them if you enjoy this particular style of music. The band seems affable enough and regularly engaged their audience with little lead in banter and I like that as opposed to just getting a one two punch from an artist. Music like this lends itself to stories and reflections so I was glad to find them doing that in a small sense. Each of the players came off as solid musicians for their style and handled the set with cool as a cucumber ease. That’s good right? I think so. Here is their full set list.
Set List: Amber Fallout, 3 Paint Brushes, Fool, Smoking Gun, Ho Hey (Lumineers cover), Bow & Arrow, Cadillac, Sleepy City, The River
I snagged a video of them doing “Cadillac” and I hope that it brings you into the night with me.
After the band packed up and settled with the club they hung around and enjoyed some beverages with their group of friends. I have some of those moments here in the next few photos. They even impressed a couple of tourists who just happened to be in the bar and become new fans. That is never a bad thing to find taking place in this day and age.
A full gallery of live shots comes up next for your viewing pleasure. I was in close quarters and the space was rather dark so I didn’t want to play with too much flash. I felt that what I walked away with was good enough for Rock and Roll and I was glad to be a part of the nights fun. There are some links below for you to also examine their upcoming shows and even to place an order for their music. Get out and support some independent stuff once in awhile. It does your music loving mind good.
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/HarpersFellow
The band’s debut release is available on CDBaby in addition to at their shows and I’ve embedded a handy little link for you to do so below:
