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Live Review from Underground 93:
Setlist:
1. Eyes (Rogue Wave cover)
2. Problems are Potential (P.A.P.)
3. Into You
4. You are the Best
5. Shadows Passing By
6. Wide Awake
7. Fireflies (Owl City cover – “Self-proclaimed encore”)
The stage was handed over to a duo of very young boys, who clearly had their own legion of adoring fans there. Setting up with two acoustics, an electric bass and a tiny ukulele, they were greeted to thrilled screams of the (probably equally young) girls in the crowd. In evidently au fait territory, singer David began the set by talking the crowd into their cover of Eyes by Rogue Wave. They displayed the utility of having two guitars, with lead duties being intermittently exchanged. Some simple yet clever arpeggiations combined with the bongos had the crowd singing along in P.A.P., followed by the self-critique of “Not all our songs are that cheesy.”
The following Into You had some clever nursery-rhyme beat lyrics, with some deft uke added on to give the song a unique touch. David’s voice was reminiscent of a young Bryan Adams, with a tinge of rasp about it, proving an interesting counterpoint to the unruffled backing of Kuya Justin’s voice with some interesting melodic counterpoints on guitar as well. Giving credit where it’s due, David knew how to control his crowd – between songs he made a surprisingly nondescript announcement that they were changing their name to “something that means something” – The Reply (a move with some foresight – having a picture of Honda Tohru pop up in peoples’ heads when introducing the band is probably not the way to progress musically.) Following this with the faster Wide Awake, the set finished 5 minutes or so earlier. Laudably, they took advantage of this with their “self proclaimed encore” of Fireflies. As with the others, their crowd was busy singing along, and when they ended, they were serenaded off stage to the sounds of cheers and fervent clapping.
Shashwati
