Last week I found myself in Berlin. Not the city in Germany, but the underground and quite low key bar in East Village Manhattan. The atmosphere was nice, brick walls and ceilings, some cool mood lighting, a stage, some decent enough space for people to stand in and dance around if they wanted to, and a cool bartender made the venue super cozy (even as I walked in and initially hung out by the side, very fly on the wall style). I was soon joined by Hunter, we grabbed some beers, and chilled out and watched the artists perform at the Breaking Sound NYC hosted show.
Talay was great. Their music lent a great addition to the cool but relaxed vibe. When they performed their single “Parent’s House”, I was truly amazed. I loved the song, it’s fun energy, and most of all the relatability of it, as a fellow young person who still lives at home with their parents (TMI?). Combining the spunky energy of their lyrics with the vivacity of an acoustic guitar and harmonica, Talay brought life to the small venue, showing out even as a one person act.
Mary Hood’s voice alone is enough to see her perform, and the lyrics of her songs add an extra layer to the experience of watching her perform live. Her and her band were super fun, and the songs they played took some really awesome turns sonically, allowing for some amazing songs. I remember feeling locked in to their performance, and Berlin lends itself to being able to connect to the performers just as a listener very well, with it’s smaller size and layout.
“When Elephant Jake comes on, there might actually be some moshing” Hunter whispers to me before the next act. Going in, I’m already hype after hearing such news. Elephant Jake comes on and absolutely rocks it. The three of them were electrifying, with super upbeat songs, some jumps, some good ol’ headbanging, and a guitar performance from Sal Fratto that ripped through the room. I headbanged. I yelled. I moshed with Talay and Mary Hood. It was some great fun.
Tenderheart Bitches held it down with the largest band of the night, 4 members, and ushered in a truly musical experience. I stood in a different spot than the prior 3 performances for this one, and the way the blue and red lights of the venue converged on the stage made the performance of very personal and heartfelt songs such a beautiful moment. They were jamming, and their sound reminded me of a fun and cheery 2000s rock band, because we ALL ended up jamming out together and just having a blast with the music and each other.
If you can get the chance to see a live performance at Berlin Under A, GO. You’ll have a great time, whether you like to just chill out and enjoy music, or dance and immerse yourself in a club atmosphere. Tell ’em 20XX Magazine sent you ;)
After the show we got some words with the some of fantastic artists:
Fav song to perform?
Mary Hood: My favorite song to perform is Light Pollution because it starts off as an acoustic fingerpicking song and is almost sung like a train of thought and then all at once the band comes in and it is big and boomy and sounds like an anthem. I like that I’m able to be flexible with the rhythm of the fingerpicking in the beginning before the band comes in and I don’t have to focus on anything but what I am doing.
Have you ever played here before? What do you like most about this venue?
MH: No I haven’t. And I love this venue! It was the first time the band played in Manhattan and it was very cool. The energy was awesome and I love how small and intimate the space is. I also really love the red lighting. I discovered it’s Julian Casablanca’s club and that is so sick to me because I love The Strokes and admire Julian Casablanca’s songwriting. He’s super blunt and his lyrics sound like he doesn’t give af what anyone thinks or even if anyone hears it which is admirable.
Biggest take away from tonight’s performance…
MH: Perform like everyone in the audience is your friend. Tonight I had so many friends in the audience and I was suddenly so comfortable. Chris (drummer) and I just moved to the city in October but haven’t been able to play shows until last month so I’ve been kind of feeling intimidated by the music scene of NYC ’cause it feels like a dream. But I don’t think I should worry about feeling that way anymore. Everyone’s there ’cause they love music. No one is judging you as hard as you judge yourself.
If you had one thing you could tell all of NYC right now, what would it be?
MH: We just released a song called Lake Sebago a few weeks ago which is streaming now wherever you listen to music! We (Chris and I) recorded and produced it ourselves during the stretch of time we couldn’t play shows and we are really proud of it so we hope that people will listen to it. We also have an EP coming out within the next few months!
