Photo by Lisa Schaffer

Chances are you’ve seen Brad Hinton on stage somewhere around the Philadelphia area, even if you didn’t know it was him at the time. Hinton has spent the better part of a decade performing in collaborative bands like Wissahickon Chicken Shack and Hezekiah Jones, with even more hired-gun credits for live shows with newcomers like Dylan Jane. But over the last few years, Hinton has been gradually experimenting with the spotlight, releasing two solo albums, Mourning Dove and Whippoorwill, that highlight the range of folk, country, and bluegrass that capture his imagination at different turns.

Hinton is the definition of a reluctant frontman. Naturally shy, he first contemplated going solo after the Chicken Shack disbanded.

“I wanted something I could do by myself, and didn’t need a lot of other people to do,” he explains. “But, I go back and forth on being comfortable performing solo. I really enjoy adding flavor to songs as part of a band more than I do bantering with the audience.”

This conflicting desire is why Hinton will always perform with other bands even while writing and recording his own material. Fluidity is the name of the game, as lineups vary night to night and projects overlap and evolve.

“The Brad Hinton Band is definitely not a set lineup,” Hinton says. “It’s more situational. I could see that backfiring in certain ways, because I think people like consistency, but I don’t necessarily like to deliver a consistent package each time. I think there’s a little surprise in what I do. That’s what keeps me interested. I don’t want to play my songs over and over again the same way.”

Growing up in the Poconos, Hinton was influenced by singer-songwriters like Simon & Garfunkel and James Taylor, but also loved the gospel music he heard at church. A trumpet player by training, Hinton picked up the guitar in high school and expanded his instrumentation even more after meeting bassist Phil D’Agostino while at Penn State. Now a resident of Bucks County, Hinton alternates between guitar, banjo, lap steel and a resonator guitar called a dobro.

His songwriting is based more on structure and melody than lyrical content, and the recordings tend to reflect whatever genre he is most interested in at the time. Whippoorwill was more bluesy in feel, but Hinton says the material on upcoming EP Chickadee is more straight-ahead with a Neil Young vibe.

You can hear some of these new songs on July 18th at Milkboy when Hinton will bring together a band of his favorite cohorts to lead a bill that features Dirty Dollhouse and Caroline Reese and the Drifting 5th. Hinton will also be performing at Bethlehem’s Musikfest on August 7th.

In the meantime, catch up with the previous material on Hinton’s Bandcamp page, and look out for a new Hezekiah Jones album that is nearing completion. Whether front and center or off to the side, Hinton will continue to be a major player in the Philadelphia music scene. His willingness to collaborate guarantees things will stay fresh for both him and the audience.

Tash Neal

The London Souls are actually based in Brooklyn, not England, and they play rock, not soul. But not much else is confusing about the powerhouse musical duo of Tash Neal (guitar/lead vocals) and Chris St. Hilaire (drums/vocals). Back in top form after Neal’s miraculous recovery from a tragic injury, The London Souls are taking full advantage of the new lease on life. Their fearless brand of classic rock ‘n’ roll is stirring up buzz well beyond the five boroughs.

The band’s second full-length album, Here Come the Girls, dropped April 7 as the inaugural collaboration between Round Hill Records and Eric Krasno’s (Soulive) Feel Music Group. After commemorating the release with the whole crew up at Bowery Ballroom, Tash and Chris brought the party to Philly for a WXPN Free at Noon performance on Friday followed by a show at Ardmore Music Hall Saturday. Even with bassist Stu Mahan down with an illness, The London Souls made quite the impression on the good people of the Delaware Valley.

Saturday was my first visit to Ardmore Music Hall, though I certainly recognized the bar from my college-era visits to Brownie’s. The makeover is solid, with floor space and a raised standing area to go with a killer sound system. Try the lamb kofte panini from the Mediterranean-inspired menu.

The show turned out to be more of a co-headlining bill, with soul-funk band Pimps of Joytime pumping out the jams for nearly 90 minutes before breaking off their hypnotic grip on the crowd. Those guys and gals definitely knew how to hold a tight pocket, and went heavy on the percussion as they borrowed from a few different genres. Lead singer and guitarist Brian J had some chops, and pulled off the top hat look as well as anyone can, I suppose. Fun fact about singer and percussionist Mayteana Morales: she starred on the early ’90s PBS show Ghostwriter. Make sure to YouTube that later.

Chris St. Hilaire

After a bit of time to recharge, during which Tash Neal casually milled around as the techs got things set up, the crowd was ready for a tonal shift, and got one as Neal and St. Hilaire tore into tracks like “When I’m With You” and “All Tied Down.” St. Hilaire held down the kit while Neal almost floated away on his electric licks. The weeks spent on the road before the album release proved fruitful, as the duo never wavered in their precise style of shredding.

The London Souls are a throwback to the turned-up, wide-open guitar rock of the 1970s. Their slick cover of The Faces’ “Stay With Me” proved that point easily. But there’s plenty more to find than nostalgia in their music, and more folks are bound to know that soon. The band’s tour rolls on, so make sure to take note of their next stop near you.

All photos by Adam McGrath

Pimps of Joytime

Mayteana Morales

Brian J

Lady Lamb. All photos by Adam McGrath

Hopefully Aly Spaltro doesn’t mind if I call her a rocker chick. The diminutive musician known as Lady Lamb more than earned the moniker upstairs at World Café Live Wednesday night. Playing to a large, youthful crowd, Spaltro and the two men who make up her rhythm section ripped right into the energizing new material from Lady Lamb’s sophomore album, After, released in March on Mom+Pop.

After has quickly become one of my favorite albums of the year, and it was exciting to hear dynamic songs like “Billions of Eyes” and “Spat Out Spit” in person. Spaltro’s music hits the mark on almost every level—the creative arrangements, the soft-loud dynamics, the personal but universal lyrics all come together in a passionate delivery. Though she looks more like a farm girl than a rock star, Lady Lamb nonetheless delivers a full-sized punch when the distortion pedal kicks in. Scrunching her face up with each new line, Spaltro takes command of the stage and brought to mind comparisons to Courtney Barnett.

Lady Lamb’s set started off super strong, delivering the highs described above. But a shift to solo softer songs came too early, and the dismissed band members proved to be a distraction in the bar area during these quieter moments. Once together again, the group did recapture some momentum, but a similar situation at the end of the set left me a bit dissatisfied. If Lady Lamb can maximize the impact of her set list and reign in her bandmates a bit, she will continue to conquer larger and larger stages.

For me, Saturday night’s sold-out show at Union Transfer was like paging through someone else’s photo album. (They still have those, right?) As I watched Philly’s Beach Slang bask in the warmth of a hometown show and listened to Cursive emotionally perform their hit album The Ugly Organ, I recognized all the familiar benchmarks of growing up, but because they weren’t my memories, I could only appreciate the moments at arm’s length. In other words, I was witnessing someone else’s nostalgia.

Beach Slang is a band that has deep roots in the Pennsylvania music scene. Lead singer James Snyder is known best around these parts as the frontman for ’90s pop-punk band Weston, which rumbled down from Bethlehem two decades ago to shake up the Philly ’burbs. Now, matched up with bassist Ed McNulty (NONA) and drummer JP Flexner (Ex-Friends), Snyder is channeling those early influences and experiences into a sound ready-made for modern ears.

The energy was high, and Snyder was giddy as a schoolgirl throughout Beach Slang’s terrific set, playing almost all of the songs from their two 2014 EPs, Cheap Thrills on Dead End Street and Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken? Songs like “American Girls and French Kisses” and “Punk or Lust” nail that reverb-heavy guitar sound, and Snyder rasps into the microphone like Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs. Something is clearly working here.

Snyder is quick to embrace his nineties-era influences. After borrowing trumpet player Patrick from tourmates Cursive, Beach Slang played a heartfelt rendition of The Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait”, which brought the crowd to full throat. Later in the set, “Game of Pricks” by Guided by Voices made an appearance, a song Snyder said he wishes he wrote.

While the set lost a little momentum with extended stage banter down the stretch, it was nice to see the band clearly excited while interacting with friends in the audience. When Snyder’s smiling face briefly emerged from behind his wild hair, red with exertion and alcohol, I could tell he was having a good night. There should be plenty more of those to come, so make sure to follow Beach Slang as they work on their next project.

Cursive

Cursive was always a band I heard my friends talk about but never gave a proper listen to. I always thought they were harder than they are, and didn’t realize how much they experimented with their sound throughout their career. The one thing I did know, though, was that 2003’s The Ugly Organ was a huge hit, and with the band touring in support of the remastered deluxe edition, everyone who did listen to the band in their teens and twenties showed up and freaked out Saturday night.

Cursive did play all of The Ugly Organ, but interspersed songs from the rest of their catalogue throughout the set, putting an interesting spin on the recent whole-album concert trend. Tim Kasher proved an adept frontman, animated while delivering his high-concept lyrics yet retreating to give other members the spotlight when appropriate. Without sharing the same emotional connection to the songs as many of my fellow concertgoers, I was most captivated by the stirring low end created by Matt Maginn’s bass and guest Ellen Lind’s cello. Obviously it’s a signature sound for that album, and really made the performance.

Nighty Nite

John Congleton and The Nighty Nite opened the show, and while I admired his passion, the room was just a little too big for his sparse, emotional songs. Even with extra layering effects on the keyboard and vocals, it was hard to connect with the performance.

Although I didn’t experience the same emotional release as longtime Cursive fans Saturday night, I definitely enjoyed the performance, and the real proof of success was in the enthusiasm of the crowd. I did feel an immediate connection with Beach Slang’s music, and look forward to hearing and seeing more of them soon. The Ugly Organ tour hits New York this week and concludes in Cursive’s home state of Nebraska on March 22.

I never needed any convincing that Bryan Adams is actually pretty cool. Growing up with MTV and movies like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and The Three Musketeers, I was well aware that the Canadian rocker effortlessly rode a wave of success built on hit song after hit song. So when I had the chance to catch Adams at the Tower Theater Thursday night, I knew it was going to be just plain fun.

all photos by Adam McGrath

Bryan Adams has been touring his Bare Bones act for a few years now, and it’s a great concept. An acoustic guitar, a piano and Adams voice—stripped down, simple and clean. It seems easy enough, but the trick is you have to have the songs, and Adams does. Over the course of two hours, the crowd heard every song they came to hear, plus a few bonuses as well.

Kicking things off with “Run to You”, Adams had the crowd feeling good right away. The set built as he pulled from albums like 1984’s Reckless, 1993’s So Far So Good, and 1997’s MTV Unplugged. Then, without so much as a hint, out came “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You”. I was immediately transported back to my youth, and wondered if my 9th grade girlfriend ever made good on her plan to use the song at her wedding.

More of the big guns followed directly, and the crowd happily sang along to “Cuts Like a Knife”, “Please Forgive Me”, and “Summer of ’69”. That brings us to more proof that Adams is a good guy: early in the set, a fellow walked up the center aisle with a sign that read, “Bryan, please let me play ‘Summer of ‘69’ with you!” And when the time came, Adams grabbed an extra guitar and had the dude come up on stage! Vernon from Delaware acquitted himself admirably, and no doubt it was one of the best days of his life.

Adams clearly loves interacting with his fans, and responded well to the quips and shouts from the crowd. At one point, he asked for a woman who loved to dance, and after pointing one out right in front of him, proceeded to serenade her as she stood and danced the whole song. I don’t know if that beats Adams inviting a fan and her friend down from the balcony to the front row, but all of these exchanges further endeared him to the audience.

The Bare Bones show does feature some new aspects this time around, as Adams recently released a covers album called Tracks of My Years, featuring the radio hits he listened to growing up. The two that made the setlist were “Any Time At All” by The Beatles and a beautiful arrangement of the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”. Adams can still hit all the notes, and his signature raspy voice worked great on these covers.

The rest of the set featured plenty more big hits, like “Heaven”, “All For Love”, “The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You”, and closing number “Straight From the Heart”. One more song worth mentioning, though, is “She Knows Me”, the only original on Tracks. It’s really good, celebrating the wonders of a loving relationship, and fits right into Adams’ body of work. Co-written with longtime partner Jim Vallance, it shares many of the same winning qualities as their previous hits.  

The Bryan Adams show at the Tower Theater Thursday night allowed me to indulge in one of my favorite emotions: nostalgia. It’s clear that Adams understands his career better than most veteran rockers, but there’s still enough of a new spark there to keep things interesting. If it’s been a while since you visited Adams’ catalogue, do yourself a favor and give it a spin.

Here are the shows in and around Philly that caught my eye this week. Let us know who you’re seeing with #PhillyConcerts.

Friday, October 10

Iceage @ First Unitarian Church:

The Danish punk band is kicking off a two-month American tour behind their third album, Plowing Into the Field of Love, released this week on Matador Records. With Helm and The Holidays.

Foxygen @ Union Transfer:

The California rock duo of Jonathan Rado and Sam France bring their unpredictable live show to Philly this weekend, showcasing songs from forthcoming album …And Star Power, out next week on Jagjaguwar. With Dub Thompson. Catch the band earlier in the day at WXPN’s Free at Noon.

Saturday, October 11

If you’re not tuckered out from Blocktoberfest, the South Jersey Arts & Farm Festival, or the River City Festival, Saturday night holds even more great bills.

Allo Darlin’ @ Boot & Saddle

The London-based indie pop band is releasing its third album this month, We Come From the Same Place (Slumberland). With The Pretty Greens. Look for our writer Tom at the show and check back for his review.

Jeff the Brotherhood / Diarrhea Planet @ Underground Arts

If you really want to get rowdy on Saturday night, this is the show for you. Both of these bands are known for their raucous live performances. With Left and Right and Hound opening. Look for our writer John at the show and check back for his review.

Sunday, October 12

Monday is a holiday for most folks, so take advantage and get out to a show!

Wheat / Roses / The Shivers / The Skis @ Kung Fu Necktie

I love that bands come down from Brooklyn and Connecticut to play at Kung Fu Necktie in Fishtown. All of the bands on this bill have been following their musical passion for years, but I’d especially like to see the interplay of The Shivers’ Keith Zarriello on guitar and vocals and Jo Schornikow on piano.

Check back next Thursday for next weekend’s concert picks, and no matter what show you see, tell us with #PhillyConcerts!

Take note: If your wife is a hot actress, find a way to get her in your band. That’s just one of many pro-level moves made by Peter Matthew Bauer, well known for his work in The Walkmen and now touring behind his debut solo album, Liberation!, a collection of songs that takes listeners through various spiritual and mystical motifs drawn from Bauer’s early life.

Saturday night at Union Transfer, Bauer performed as if possessed, his body sustaining an unhealthy amount of tension as he belted out songs like “Latin American Ficciones” and “Fortune Tellers”. Making up in intensity what he may lack in vocal range, Bauer set his pompadour quivering as he led three other musicians and three backup singers through a 45-minute set.

The dominant characteristic of Bauer’s music is its driving rhythm, achieved with simple chords strummed powerfully on top of thumping tom drums, punctuated by the jangle of a tambourine. Also key, though, are the voices of his wife, Marisa Brown, and her friends, who lend a striking sense of depth and space on the exotic-sounding title track, “Liberation!”

It’s always cool to see musicians explore personal projects after being in well-known bands, and Bauer’s Philadelphia connections make him someone worth rooting for.

Headliner Delta Spirit, the Brooklyn-via-California-via-Texas band that has gained a large following over four albums and the better part of a decade, brought a sense of fun, passion, and professionalism to their nearly 90-minute set. Largely drawing from most recent release Into the Wide, lead singer Matt Vasquez dug deep after two big New York shows and an appearance on Letterman earlier in the week.

Accompanied by guitarist William McLaren, pianist and percussionist Kelly Winrich, bassist Jon Jameson, and drummer Brandon Young, Vasquez flung his guitar around his body like a plaything, pointing it every which way and even wearing it as a hat at one point. McLaren wielded his Fender more like a chef’s knife, but he got in on the fun in Delta Spirit’s version of a swimming pool chicken fight, playing a riff while perched on Vasquez’s shoulders.

The new album is the heaviest the band has sounded, though they still have atmospheric elements to their songs. “From Now On”, “Hold My End Up”, “Language of the Dead” and “Patriarch” either soar from the start or build into crashing waves of sound. The crowd was equally delighted to hear older cuts, though, such as “California”, “Bushwick Blues” and “People C’mon”.

With swirling images projected onto a clever slatted backdrop, the stage visuals added extra excitement to Vasquez’s antics, and made for a really fun show. The charismatic singer offered some sincere words of appreciation toward the end of the night, further cementing the band’s good relationship with Philadelphia music fans.

All photos by Adam McGrath

Not every show has to be a knockdown, raucous time. Occasionally it’s nice to just relax and listen to talented musicians ply their craft. Carolina roots rockers Hiss Golden Messenger and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig did just that Tuesday night at Johnny Brenda’s, soothing and swaying a modest but attentive crowd.

Hiss Golden Messenger, fronted by old soul MC Taylor, is in the middle of an East Coast tour in support of the newly released album Lateness of Dancers, the group’s first on Merge Records. Take a look at Taylor’s That Mag interview if you missed it.

Having only seen Taylor play solo as Hiss Golden Messenger, it was exciting to see him with the backing of an excellent band. Phil Cook of Megafaun brought a Ray Manzarek vibe to the keyboard, drummer Matt McCaughan of Bon Iver laid down a nice foundation with HGM stalwart Scott Hirsch on bass, and Matt Douglas added some solid baritone and tenor sax. Providing a platform for Taylor’s subtle guitar work and craggy, warm voice, the talented group obviously felt comfortable playing together.

The set kicked off with “Red Rose Nantahala” from the 2013 album Haw, followed quickly by three tracks from Dancers: “Saturday’s Song”, “Mahogany Dread”, and “Day O Day (A Love So Free)”. Presented in the same order as the album, these three songs represent the best of Hiss Golden Messenger’s simple, thoughtful writing. Themes of family and spirituality run through Taylor’s work, all the while buoyed by a sense of hope and fun.

Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, who opened the show, joined the band for “Day O Day”, as she also appears on that track on the album. A delicate little thing, Sauser-Monnig possesses a voice out of time, its resonance calling to mind early American frontier women. Performing songs like “Long Leaf Pine” and “Fellows” in a trance-like state, Sauser-Monnig stunned the crowd into silence with her vocal prowess.

As the set continued and the band worked through some older material, the rapt quietude of the audience started to get to Taylor, as he quipped that he appreciated the attention, but it was also “kind of stressful.” It didn’t help that the time between songs sometimes stretched on as Taylor meticulously retuned each of the three guitars used throughout the night. Some momentum was definitely lost in these moments.

Nevertheless, things came to a rousing close with “Southern Grammar”, a Clapton-esque tune that kicks along with a rumbling gait. After a quick exit, Taylor and Cook led the group directly out onto the venue floor to lead a sing-a-long version of “Drum”, a song that has appeared on multiple HGM albums and features the line “Take the good news, and carry it away.” Whatever your interpretation of those words, the musical good news reached all of our ears that night, and I for one am happy to carry it to you.

Alec Ounsworth (photo by, Matthew Barrick)

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is one of the most written about indie bands of the past decade, ever since their smash debut blew up the fledgling blogosphere in 2005. But in ten years worth of digital ink, it’s possible that no one has ever gotten the band’s inscrutable nucleus, Alec Ounsworth, just right.

Only Run, the band’s fourth album, released independently on June 3rd (as all the albums have been), would seem on the surface to be a departure from previous efforts. The original lineup of the band is no longer together, and the new songs feature more synthesizers than guitar. However, after talking with Ounsworth earlier this week, I’m largely convinced that these shifts simply reveal what has been true all along: this project has always been a one man show at heart.

Doing it on your own seems to be at the center of Ounsworth’s ethos, and several lyrics on Only Run point to the burdensome effects of this outlook. On “Beyond Illusion”, atop a driving electronic drumbeat, the singer claims, “We were born to fight alone.” And on “Coming Down”, a duet featuring Ounsworth’s old touring buddy Matt Berninger of The National, Ounsworth insists “I’ve been going it alone all the while.”

This sense of me-against-the-world also applies in a specific way to the challenges of the modern music industry. Ounsworth says, “I try not to let the trials and tribulations of the music industry get to me, but I’ve done all of these records independently, and things seem much more uncertain to any given artist than they ever have before, and a lot of [the album] had to do with facing that, in my own obscure stance. It came from a place of uncertainty, not with my capacity as a songwriter, but with how long I can fight against the powers that be.”

So while it can be debated whether the musical direction of Only Run is the result of the lineup dissolving or the cause, for Ounsworth it seems perfectly consistent with his original artistic vision. He says, “That’s kind of always the way I had envisioned it, at the beginning. Things got a little out of control at the very beginning, and immediately became something that I wasn’t entirely comfortable with. I never had pictured it as a one-for-all entire band concept. Whether people like it or not, that’s how a lot of bands work. Whether anybody likes it or not, I require absolute creative control. That’s just how it works; that’s all I’ve known.”

Ounsworth also says that without the willingness to try something new, music can quickly become stale. “I don’t understand, these days,” he ponders, “why a lot of people seem to make the same record over and over again. My favorite musicians (Bob Dylan, Tom Waits), are the ones who don’t stay still, don’t just stay in some sort of rut by virtue of the fact that people happened to like their last record. That’s not very artistic, not very creative, and doesn’t really seem to help anyone. At its very worst, it’s dishonest.”

So it seems that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Alec Ounsworth will forever be inextricably linked. But that doesn’t mean he’s always on stage by himself. Though earlier this year he played a series of intimate living room shows around the United States and Europe, tonight, June 27, at Johnny Brenda’s, a full band will perform songs from all four CYHSY albums.

The current touring lineup consists of notable Philadelphia musicians, such as drummer Pat Berkery (War on Drugs), Nick Krill (Spinto Band) and bassist Matt Wong. Tickets are still available, so come out tonight to hear new songs and classics alike.

Naked gratitude poured from Greg Barnett’s sweat-drenched face as The Menzingers’ vocalist profusely thanked the huge crowd of friends, family, and fans at Union Transfer Saturday night. He was right to be overwhelmed by what could be the biggest show of his music career to date. Sure, there may have been bigger stages or bigger crowds, but in terms of pure passion, nothing can top the full-throttle experience of this performance. That’s the beauty of a hometown show.

It was the first time The Menzingers has headlined Philly’s hottest venue, and the show was night three on a 32-stop tour in support of the band’s fourth album, Rented World (Epitaph), which debuted at #50 on the Billboard 200 chart. These achievements are well earned, as the band has crafted their post-punk sound through years of writing and touring. The Menzingers are carrying the torch of honest, emotional rock music that they and many others in the Delaware Valley grew up with.

After excellent opening sets from Philly’s Cayetana, Toronto’s Pup, and Buffalo’s Lemuria, the youthful crowd was primed for the main event, ready to blow. The Menzingers sparked the powder keg with the opening notes of “I Don’t Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore”, the rousing first track from Rented World. The entire first half of the floor became a swirling, bending mass of bodies as Barnett belted out “Baby baby I’ll be good to you” on top of co-vocalist and guitarist Tom May’s oohs and aahs.

The chain reaction continued through “Good Things”, “Burn After Writing”, and “In Remission”. I have to say I’ve never seen such constant or violent stage diving as I did at this show. With the crowd pressed right up against the stage, it was easy for the same three or four dudes to jump up and literally somersault repeatedly into the crowd. A few girls surfed benignly, but I’d be surprised if somebody didn’t go home with a concussion the way bodies were flying off the stage. The band treated it as par for the course, though, and simply dodged the fans running around them.

Most of the 21-song, 75-minute set came from the new album and the one prior, 2012’s breakthrough On The Impossible Past. Songs like “Ava House” and “Where Your Heartache Exists” offered a few minutes for the audience to catch their breath, and things stayed somewhat reserved as the set concluded with “Bad Things”, “Casey” and “Transient Love.” The only song I wish they played is “Nothing Feels Good Anymore”, one of my favorites from the new album.

After a quick break, The Menzingers tore the place down with an encore of “Gates”, “A Lesson in the Abuse of Information Technology” (the title track of their 2007 debut), and “The Obituaries”, which makes for a perfect closing track with the refrain “I will fuck this up, I fucking know it.” The Menzingers success comes from their talent for writing songs that elicit complete emotional release, and Barnett’s ability to switch from his normal singing voice to a razorblade scream provides that extra punch of aggression that young men crave.

Saturday night’s headlining gig at Union Transfer is a milestone in The Menzingers’ career. Surrounded by so many loved ones and longtime fans, they had made it, and they knew it. The local boys had done good, and all the work, all the years grinding it out, culminated in an amazing night of music.