I attended the Hot Hot Heat show last night at the Bowery Ballroom not having any expectations for any of the bands playing. I think this is a good thing sometimes because I rarely go into a musical experience without having ANY idea of what to expect, and it feels like I am coming at it with a clean slate.
I’ll just start by saying that Hot Hot Heat was lame. The crowd, almost entirely made up of Hot Hot Heat fans, weren’t even moving to the music until well into their set, and even at that it was more awkward and forced than anything else. But enough about them. Lets discuss the talent that played tonight.
The opening band (of 3) was Canadian-bred indie folk band Hey Rosetta! They were actually pretty good. Their sound was a little too folky for me, but as a true fan of music I was able to appreciate it for what it was.
They came out with 6 members, including a violinist (who stole the show for me). The stage at the Bowery Ballroom isn’t all that big, and it seemed a little too small for this band. However, they seemed to work the stage to their advantage. The instrumentalists played together so seamlessly it often didn’t even feel like six people up there. The crowd was sparse at that point in the night (they went on around 8:30) but everyone who caught the set seemed to really enjoy it. Again, the violinist stole the show for me. It is rare when a rock band, even an indie folk rock band, can pull off a violin without sounding forced.
The singer has a clean voice that sounds effortless as he sings. I thought everyone in the band played their instruments appropriately for their sound. No one tried to over-do it, including the drummer, and it came out sounding smooth yet pretty powerful.
You can check our Hey Rosetta! And their new album, “Into Your Lungs,” at http://www.heyrosetta.com/