Milton Busker At Radio Bean, Swale At Juniper And The Mountain Says No & Black Rabbit At Manhattan Pizza March 7, 2014

Words by Tim Lewis.

I had a great time seeing music last night. I knew there was no way I could see all that I wanted, but set up an ambitious plan and carried it through. I got out of work at 7 and did a quick turn around and was at Radio Bean a little after 8. Milton Busker was on and playing his heart out on acoustic guitar. His playing was subtle and exciting at the same time. His songs evoked a full band, but it was just him on stage. I was pretty mesmerized for the set until the last song where he just rocked hard and I bopped around in joy. After he finished I headed to Juniper and saw Swale play in a lobby. There were a bunch of people sitting around chatting and Swale set up and played a bunch of their most gentle songs. Gorgeous versions of Soul Piggy Bank and Middlesex left me blissfully happy. A couple of songs wanted to rock a bit, but they held it tight. It just wasn’t a rocking environment, but it was so great to hear them play. I knew I could not stay for the whole show, so when the clock said go, I slipped out the door. I cruised down to Manhattan Pizza and Pub and settled in, but soon The Mountain Says No hit the stage with a furious version of their title song. The rest of the set was high energy rock and roll, and it was great. I’m still learning their songs, but I really like several of them. I loved every moment of their set, and hope to see them again soon. After a quick break, Black Rabbit came on and rocked the place hard. Familiar songs like Neighborhood and 89 were balanced with newer songs like the one about the cold. In honor of the mural on the wall, they covered The Ramones song I Don’t Wanna go down to the Basement. They had me rocking from first note to last, and I was overflowing with joy. As the last note faded away, I grabbed my coat and hit the road. I got a pretty good night’s sleep, and now it’s time for work and then do it all over again tonight. This time, with a little less walking.

This post was originally published by Tim Lewis at his personal blog, https://timstriangletribune.wordpress.com.