Brothers Past at the State Theater

Listen to the show, or read the article. I attended on Tuesday with my friend Bill (Happy Birthday, man!). It's pretty good, and I had a lot of fun chatting with infrequently seen friends. Second set ruled my face, to appropriate a heady expression. And hanging out backstage is not overrated, after all (didn't even know that chick was taking notes).

Here's an excerpt from the article that I think many readers who don't know the band would find interesting:

Meet Brothers Past: Tom McKee (keyboards, vocals), Rick Lowenburg (drums), Parnell (bass, vocals) and Hamilton (vocals, guitar). Hailing from Philadelphia, they bring with them a stimulating combination of rock fused with riveting electronic sequences. The result is music that allows the listener to feel the familiarity of some sounds tinged with the added intrigue that comes with having to try and place others. The experience is like tasting an anonymous food - you get the "I don't know what it is, but I think I like it" sort of feeling.

On stage, you see a guitar, bass, keyboards, drums: then your eye falls on a laptop in the corner, and things start to make sense. Hamilton uses a sound synthesizer program to replicate everything from a drum beat to sounds that don't even resemble instruments, but still compliment their more traditional counterparts in such a fitting way that you start to wonder how they ever got along without each other.

If Hamilton kicks up a drum beat on the laptop, Lowenburg might compliment it on his drums, or decide to pick up a guitar instead. These are versatile musicians who play both with each other and off each other, and when they incorporate the electronic element, you get highly inventive music.

Check them out if you're up for a good time. BTW, I reviewed their latest album here. Thanks, Hick, for the photos! Read this article
Written on Saturday, November 19, 2005