Barbara and Ethan Gruska haven’t released an album yet (their self-titled album is due next April) but they have certainly built a crowd judging from the happy faces packing the Satellite on Monday night. Happy? People are rather jubilating when they see them, jumping, dancing as if their heads were going to explode from a joy overdose.
With her Tom Petty and the heartbreakers t-shirt, Barbara Gruska is simply a little package of electric energy, a jovial free spirit commenting on every song, encouraging a contest of tambourines, presenting their new ‘Belle Brigade’ tee-shirt with the help of a male model, and switching from guitar to drums with the speed of light.
They started their set with a strip down rendition of ‘Sweet Louise’, a country infused upbeat song that you may find addictive quite fast, then a boogie-country number, ‘Lucky guy’ and a few other songs on which they produced some steam and a few fireballs, especially when a ‘choir of ladies’ came on stage with their tambourines, it was all about liberating freedom. I have to say that there were a lot of musicians to back the charming duo, and the crowd was really into it, screaming on ‘Rusted wheel’, and another song entitled ‘Shirt’.
And they closed their set with that song, “Losers’, a feel-good tune which pushes its ascending melody up in your face, to the point you want to raise your fist,… as they sing in perfect unison ‘Don’t care about being a winner’, … really? I think they totally win every Monday night at the Satellite.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W95-T9hvBsY&w=500&h=390]