SISTER SPARROW & THE DIRTY BIRDS ALBUM RELEASE PARTY AT BROOKLYN BOWL

New York’s own Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds threw an album release party at the Brooklyn Bowl that could have been released as a live album onto itself. The album was recorded on New Year’s Eve and has quite the party atmosphere to it, but then so does every show by the band. The soul infused rock and roll that the band plays with all their heart just makes you instantly want to dance. The hometown crowd showed up in full force as well, helping the party atmosphere be at an all-time high.

Opening the show was The Suitcase Junket, which is a one man band based out of Massachusetts. There should be a soft spot in every music lover’s heart for a one man band, and even more so when that person doesn’t use any loops to make his or her music. Matt Lorenz stomped, strummed, sang, and shouted through his short set. He also jokingly introduced the band and what instrument they play which went something along the lines of “my right toe here bangs on the drums, which has a baby shoe on it to make the sounds you’re hearing.” The comedy went hand in hand with everything he was playing, which went from dark and dirty swampy rock to beautiful indie based songs you could dance to. Though the crowd wasn’t as plentiful during his set that it would be later, everyone who was there thoroughly enjoyed what he did with the time he had.

The Suitcase Junket

Up next was upstate New York three piece rock and soul band Wild Adriatic. Blistering onto the stage with newer song “Never Enough,” the band made the crowd quickly come back towards the stage from wherever they might have been during set break. The band barely took a breath through the set and used the entire time to wow the New York crowd. Travis Gray’s voice soared almost as high as his never ending guitar work and Rich Derbyshire bounced all over the stage and almost into the crowd while playing the bass to ramp up the crowd. Mateo Vosganian kept the group in line with fantastic drumming and the energy of ten men.

Wild Adriatic

The band played a few new songs to be recorded later in the year for their second full length album. A cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” was woven into the band’s won “40 days” much to the crowd’s delight. Later in the set they covered Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean,” which again got the crowd jumping before they closed the set with their own “The Spark” and “Mess Around.” Most of Brooklyn Bowl was filled at this point and the crowd showed the group a lot of love as they finished up.

After a brief change over Sister Sparrow came out and took over the venue for a little under two hours. Arleigh Kincheloe is a dynamic front woman with a soaring voice that sounds as though it cannot come out of her body. It’s hard to take your eyes off of her, but when you do you see one of the most talented bands out there today. Her brother Jackson plays a mean harmonica and adds that extra something to the music that makes it special. Sasha Brown’s guitar work is jaw dropping and he never seems to stop playing something amazing. Every chance he gets he gives you another great lick here and a serious solo there. Phil Rodriguez on trumpet and Brian Graham on saxophone blow the roof off of any stage they are on and never seem to hit a sour note. These two work so well together balancing out Sasha’s impeccable playing. When Phil and Brian take the lead it always pleases the crowd. Josh Myers and Dan Boyden hold down the low end on bass and drums and do such a great job it’s easy to overlook them. Without these two back there though the whole thing would slowly come off the rails.

Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds

SSADTB

The whole set felt like it went by in a flash. From the opening punch of “We Need a Love” and “Freight Train” to the sweet slow soul music of “Don’t Be Jealous” to the closing song “Bad Love,” the crowd’s attention never seemed to wane. They even mashed up their own song “Prison Cells” with Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes” to perfection. Near the end of the evening Arleigh thanked the hometown crowd for coming out and supporting them on their live album and that it would be awhile before they were back in town. Being home Arleigh dedicated the encore of “Dirt” and “Mama Knows” to her and Jackson’s mom who was in the crowd celebrating her birthday. The Dirty Birds are going to be touring all year and should never be missed. Their brand of rock and roll and soul is one of a kind and will cure any worries you have at the time.