The claim here is that Friends could be the next Paramore except… well, except Friends are a really great techno pop band and Paramore are nothing of the sort. One thing for sure, Friends support slot at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park is about as big an opportunity as these kids are gonna get.
Not that it is do or die but it will answer the musical question: can Samantha Urbani's stroppy fun girl one connect with an indifferent audience in an open air, 6000 SRO setting?
IThe marriage of band and audience is a little bizarre. Friends are opening for Two Door Cinema Club, the English One Hit Wonders whose newbie has already come and gone. The audience is the right age for Friends, but a little laid back. Can Samantha wind em up?
I won't know because I am going to see Jay-Z at the opening of the Barclay Center tomorrow night. But I've never wished I had a Woody Fuller in nyc to cover it for me. I think Samantha is going blow the Field of Dreams up.. metaphorically speaking of course. I thought the band was thrilling at Bowery Ballroom earlier this year and brooklynvegan said they were better a couple of days before in Austin. So you gotta think, right?
Anyway, if you are gonna be there I'd love to know what you thought! Their latest album is a killer, if they do half of what they can on stage Friends are gonna become a band of lovers.