The Heavy Pets hit the Brooklyn Bowl with openers McLovins for a great night of dance your butt off, jam rock.
The McLovins took the stage at eight and impressed me with their tight improvs and vocal harmonies. The Hartford, CT based jam band seems young enough but their stage presence, while fun, is more like a veteran group. Each member is highly skilled on his instrument and also provides great singing and incredible harmonies. They played a killer version of Eric Claptons “Lay Down Sally” but mostly held to original stuff which was shoulder shaking worthy. Lead singer/guitarist, Jeff Lloyd, of the Heavy Pets came on for a few killer tunes near the end of the set which was a great warm up.
The Heavy Pets are a powerhouse of a band that can play any style of music they want on any given night that definitely caught my attention. Ranging from sassy reggae to smoky blues laden jams, each song was different than the last and kept your attention. Midway through the set a saxophone was utilized for a few funky grooves to which one younger lady was inspired to pull out her hula-hoop to pull off a few impressive moves. These guys are at their best when jamming, guitarist Mike Garulli is a beast and works well with guitarist Jeff Lloyd, Bassist Tony D’Amato, drummer Jamie Newett and Jim Wuest on the keys to form a formidable live band. So if you feel like throwing on your old tie-dye shirt and dancing the night away be sure to catch this show near you!
Article and Photos by Shayne Hanley
