ANIMAL REPORTERS + CITY OF THE SUN + SOMEKINDAWONDERFUL PLAY THE STUDIO AT WEBSTER HALL

SomeKindaWondeful played an intimate show Monday night at The Studio at Webster Hall. After hearing their hit “Reverse” all over Sirius’ Alt Nation channel, I was really looking forward to this show.

The night started off with NY’s own Animal Reporters. They rocked the house with their good ol’ Rock’n’Blues sound. I loved the way they took Ray Charles’ “Hit The Road Jack” and made it their own.

Next up was City Of The Sun. This trio, also from NY, consisted of two acoustic guitars and a box drum. Their sound was mesmerizing…like an instrumental Gypsy Kings. They filled the room with a fairly young crowd, dancing to their amazing energy.

Then, SomeKindaWonderful took the stage. Their musical style is hard to define. They played songs from their self-titled debut album ranging from Alt-rockers, “Reverse” and “Cornbread”, to Country-rock of “Devilish Man”. “Hard For Days” even contains a small rap in the middle of the song. This isn’t much of a stretch, being that lead singer Jordy Towers was signed to a major label that once signed Aaliyah, Timbaland and Toni Braxton. When the deal fell through, he moved from LA to Ohio, where he met current band mates, drummer Ben Schigel and guitarist Matt Gibson. Within hours of a chance meeting at an Ohio bar, hit song “Reverse” was written and recorded. One of my favorite songs of the night had to be soul influenced “Shine On Me”. Besides playing most, if not all, of the new album, they covered 2Pac’s “California Love” and finished the night with a cover of Bob Marley’s “Waiting In Vain”. Their NYC debut was amazing and I cant wait to see their return which will surely be at a bigger venue.

Article by: Michael DiGiovanni