Ski Lodge Warmed up Pianos on Friday Night [photos]

IMG 2071 SKI LODGE WARMED UP PIANOS ON FRIDAY NIGHT [PHOTOS]

There’s truly nothing better than getting to see the artists you love in action. We were so proud to present a stellar lineup of up-and-coming bands last Friday at Pianos, and we can guarantee that you’ll be hearing much more from these groups in the near future.

Starting off last Friday night was the Brooklyn-based project of Lauren Zettler, Lightyear (@iamlightyear). With a sound resembling a harder, richer Feist and a more serious Regina Spektor, Zettler blended her tinkling ivories with electronic highlights and big beats, opening up the show on a high note.

Wild Honey Pie favorites You Won’t continued with a set that was decidedly more raw than what they present on their album, Skeptic Goodbye. With only two members in the band, the duo had to be creative when it came to recreating their songs in a live setting. This effort was easily accomplished by percussionist/multi-instrumentalist Racy Sastri, who pulled everything from a harmonica to a xylophone and maracas out of his back pocket. Combining Sastri’s endless stream of noise machines with Josh Arnoudse’s cheerful twang and crunchy Telecaster resulted in a solid set from a band well on their way to success.

IMG 1916 SKI LODGE WARMED UP PIANOS ON FRIDAY NIGHT [PHOTOS]

Spanish Prisoners (@span_prisoners) were truly excellent at the art of collaboration. During their set, it was unclear who claimed the position of frontman, as each member took turns with lead vocal duties and created consistent, blended instrumentals. Spanish Prisoners would benefit, though, from allowing their performers more freedom to individually shine. Their single “Rich Blood”, for instance, is easily their best song and was most brilliant when the guitar riff stood out in front of the wall of sound.

Ski Lodge (@skiiilodge) is great music to do The Twist to (we know, we did it) — their sound is infinitely more 1960s beach throwback than most other bands who claim the genre. In fact, as soon as Andrew Marr and his bandmates took the stage, the back room at Piano’s was immediately inundated with dancing hipsters all clambering to enjoy the retro tunes. This was somewhat surprising, though, given that the band didn’t perform with quite the same level of energy felt in the crowd. In addition to performing songs from their recently release EP, Ski Lodge teased us with a few new tracks, one of which sounded derivative of Nightmare Of You’s “Ode To Serotonin”. I really can’t wait for that full-length!