“Like all good relationships, ours with Magic Man started on Craigslist,” said Panama Wedding front man, Peter Kirk. A year ago, Kirk put an ad out on Craigslist selling his guitar amp. An hour later, Sam Lee, from Magic Man, called saying they were opening for New Politics at Bowery Ballroom and he needed an amp. Their friendship grew from there and Sunday night that amp took the stage at Bowery Ballroom once again.
Sydney-based band, Tigertown, opened up the night with a lot of energy and a very smiley lead singer. Their electro-pop vibe is super dreamy and their new song “Papernote” is so catchy, it’s been stuck in my head all day.
Panama Wedding looked like a bunch of preppy frat guys when they took the stage. I sure was fooled because I wasn’t expecting them to be as solid as they were. I hate to make direct comparisons but these guys have a crazy alternative Phil Collins vibe and I kind of love it. Along with other songs, they played all the songs from their EP Parallel Play that was released this past June. Their song “All of the People” off that EP is probably my favorite.
As Magic Man took the stage, there was a lot of love in the room as the crowd erupted in cheers of, “I love you!” The members of Magic Man were so humbled by the amount of support that they had been getting in New York City (this was their third sold out show in the city on this tour).
“We started this band five years ago and we just wanted to play music in living rooms and basements for fun,” said lead singer, Alex Caplow.
Now they’re travelling with their own light set-up and platform creating a party atmosphere and providing a way for the musicians to get intimate with the crowd.
They played songs off their latest album, Before the Waves including “Out of Mind,” “Catherine” and “Honey,” as well as a couple older songs, “Nova Scotia,” and “South Dakota.” Caplow played off of the audience’s energy and had a killer performance, moving around the stage like he owned the place. Magic Man’s five years of experience together shows in the undeniable chemistry that they have.
When Magic Man came back out for their encore, they opened with an astounding cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.” Tigertown and Panama Wedding invaded the stage during the song, dancing around and spraying a water gun.
They closed the show with their hit, “Paris,” as the entire audience sang along and danced as hard as they could to hold on to the amazing set that they didn’t want to end.
Article by: Merissa Blitz