Last night marked another great Sunday night of music at The Manhattan Room (Ed. Note: misnomer — it’s located in Philadelphia) thanks to Tom of Bag of Songs and Village Green Productions. The night began with Sheboygan, Wisc. trio Cedarwell, making waves with their beautifully melodic shoegaze evident by opening for national acts such as DeVotchKa back in May of this year.
The vocals and playing style of front man Erik Neave often reminded me of David Bazan while drummer Jared Beckman only had me conjuring images of a little drummer boy with a tom affixed to his waist as he stood amongst another tom and crash cymbals and between Neave and guest guitarist Jeff Patlingrao. Talented multi-instrumentalist Shawn Fogel joined Cedarwell for “Wisconsin Skies” before the band ended with the beautiful, if disturbingly named, “Black Lung” (download).
Cedarwell: Erik Neave
Jared Beckman
JP05, comprised of Patlingrao (guitar, vocals) and Fogel (drums, backing vocals), followed with another melodic set, though their sound was hard as nails compared to the lullaby pop of Cedarwell. Patlingrao played the hell out of his Fender and seemed to never let go of the whammy bar, creating almost unending wide vibrato. The duo’s vocals harmonized well and they fed off of each other’s energy wonderfully. The end of the set saw the two seemingly race each other, Patlingrao shredding and Fogel hammering away, trying to out pace one another but ended in good-natured laughter.
JP05: Shawn Fogel, Jeff Patlingrao
Third on the bill were Beaten By Them, a mostly instrumental ensemble with both a cello and extended-range bass in addition to two guitars and drums. Even just in the soundcheck, it was obvious that cellist Boima Tucker and bassist Lee Matheson more than excel at their respective instruments. I made no secret of my excitement for the inclusion of a cello in Beaten By Them and Tucker played rich and beautiful parts, as did the rest of his bandmates.
I became absorbed in the beauty of Beaten By Them’s vocally-light set and was impressed with the quintet’s energy. Their last track would have no doubt fit in a score of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” or “Angel” with its deep and brooding tone, yet it still retained a gorgeous quality. Though slightly out of place on the bill, Beaten By Them commanded attention and are definitely worth checking out.
Bomia Tucker
Lee Matheson
Headlining the show were local pop punk outfit Upsincefriday, who will be releasing a new record next month. While not playing anything groundbreaking, these four Philly guys know how to rock hard and put on an entertaining show.
Upsincefriday: Damian Colon
Mitch Hajdak
Michael Barreras
Anthony DiDonato
Don’t miss next month’s show when Bags of Songs and Village Green Productions bring Cheers Elephant, Butane Variations, Creeping Weeds and I Am The Heat to the M Room on Sunday, September 28th.
Cedarwell: website | myspace
JP05: myspace
Beaten By Them: website | blog
Upsincefriday: myspace
Bag of Songs: blog
Village Green Productions: website
The M[anhattan] Room: website
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