Quirky NY Chick: Talking To Walls Rocked A MEAN(Y) Set

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Talking To Walls Rocked A MEAN(Y) Set

3:40 AM | Posted by Quirky NY Chick

Talking To Walls: October 1 @ The Delancey, New York, NY

Talking To Walls made another trip to NY. This time, it was for M.E.A.N.Y. Fest 2009. The la

st time I saw the band, it was in acoustic duo form. This past Thursday they were electric and the other two walls were in place creating a four-walled Talking To Walls rock 'n' roll extravaganza.

The band, Brian Kelly (vocals/guitar), Nat Webb (guitar/vocals), Matt Krupa (drums) and Matt Miklos (bass) took to the stage to play a shortened but high spirited and engaging set. Since my only live Talking To Walls experience had been acoustic, I was looking forward to seeing the full on, smack you around, plugged in show.

Prior to starting, the band's set had been cut down to four songs. Say wha?! Don't the M.E.A.N.Y. Fest people know old quirky broads need longer Talking To Walls fixes than that? Humph! The show kicked off with "Came To You" and it was clear right away that the band came to have some good old fashioned rock 'n' roll fun.

Y'all know I'm a guitar fan. Well, I got my chance to witness Webb (or "Ace" as they've decided he should be known as to break free from the "at" syndrome that has crept into the band ... can we vote on another name? I'm just askin'!) in all his electric glory. He plays like a bottle of fiery lava ... molten and bubbly. You just know that at any given moment he's going to erupt into a dazzling display of brilliance.

It was my first time having the Krupa experience. I've been paying attention to drummers of late and I'm glad I did Thursday. Krupa is a delightfully charismatic performer and a hell of a drummer. He's all laid back, unassuming and cool looking but when you give a listen you hear all of these fascinating bits and bobs. His rhythm section partner-in-crime, Miklos, who was playing his first official show with the band, provided a solid bottom line that I will henceforth refer to as bassist bad-assery.

Kelly is a personable front man. He has a laid back charm that just makes you wanna bake cookies for him. Okay, perhaps we don't want me personally baking cookies as my culinary skills are a bit rusty and questionable at best on a good day. I discovered at this show that electric, Kelly lets loose. He's a good performer both acoustic and electric but it's like watching two different Brian's. That's not a bad thing, it just offers we the audience diversity. But, me thinks there may well be some rock star wings under the shirt of Electric Brian.

We all know I'm a fan of "Song For Megan." The band was joined by two Irish step dancers for the song which was being filmed for a video they're putting together. I've gotta say, the step dancing solo rocked. That was to be the last song but they got word they could do two more songs. W

icked! This gave us "Cut Out" from their Naked album; a song I was tickled to hear. If you haven't heard it, check it out. They ended the night with a let's party rendition of "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" which was perfect because that's exactly what it felt like, a party.

Talking To Walls are a fun live band and they made me smile a lot. The only thing that could have made it better was if it had been a longer set. I enjoyed them just as much electric as I did acoustic and, I look forward to seeing them again. You should pop around to see them too if they should happen to venture to a venue near you. You'll have fun!

Oh, and my vote for Webb's new name, Hunt Knightly. Is that name already taken? Think about it. I'm just suggestin'!