La Sera Played Cameo Gallery [photos]

Photo Credit: Andrew St. Clair

Members of the Brooklyn crowd at La Sera’s (@iamkatygoodman) Cameo Gallery concert showed ‘Kickball Katy’ Goodman much love, begging her to move back to her hometown from California. “Maybe some day,” she replied. Let’s face it, she’s only coming back to visit occasionally, only to split again and leave us with fond memories of our time together. This time, she was here in support of her new album, Sees the Light, a record that possesses more of a West Coast vibe than her other outfit, Vivian Girls.

La Sera’s setlist was a very solid mix of her self-titled debut album and Sees the Light, a “break up” record with lyrics as direct and unsentimental as a science textbook. Opening with the punk-driven “Break My Heart”, she also introduced a new song, “Blind”, which fans seemed to soak up and enjoy. The band, while joking around that they were nervous, were anything but. Performances of “I Can’t Keep You on My Mind” and “How Far We’ve Come Now” showed the band at their most confident.

A broken guitar string was the catalyst for the set’s highlight. When Rob Barbato was unable to secure a spare guitar from one of the opening bands (seriously?), rhythm guitarist Scott Shannon handed over his and graciously went backstage to change the string for Rob. In the meantime, the remaining band members broke out an extended jam version of “Behind Your Eyes” (which is the b-side of La Sera’s first single, “Never Come Around”). Unfortunately, much to this reviewer’s chagrin, this knocked the break-up opus, “It’s Over Now” off the setlist.

There will always be a place in Brooklyn and in our hearts for Kickball Katy — even as she breaks said hearts in the process.