With their own mix of alternative rock, ska, reggae, and bohemian jams, Boston natives, State Radio, brought their hometown passion to the Bottleneck on Thursday November 15th. People of all ages took shelter from the cold and warmed up with beer. Lots of it. In fact, the majority of the audience appeared to be adults, and the majority of them appeared to be drunk. Either they were drunk or they just really enjoyed screaming the lyrics out of tune. For me, this just made the show more entertaining. If you’re familiar with State Radio, the drunkenness definitely showed during the song “Mr. Larkin,” when the audience attempted to yell “You know never once have I been late!”
Sarah Jaffe and her small band opened the show. If Eurythmics’ song “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” could be expanded into a whole set, then you’ve got Sarah Jaffe’s set. The pounding tribal like drums, the strong almost masculine voice, and the somewhat haunting melodies all contributed to this “Sweet Dreams” idea. The crowd was very appreciative of her, with a few “I love you Sarah!”s being thrown out, each one graciously greeted with a thank you.
After a quick instrument tuning by the roadies and technicians, the lights dimmed and State Radio took the stage. Usually a 3 piece consisting of Chad Urmston (lead vocals, guitar), Chuck Fay (bass), and Mike Najarian (drums), Matt Embree of California’s Rx Bandits joined them on this tour providing seemingly effortless guitar solos and smooth harmonies which sounded just as rich live as they do on the recordings. Before “Bohemian Groove,” Chad pulled out 4 battery-powered candles for each band member stating, “We’re gonna turn up the love.” After thinking about this for a song or two, I realized these candles were simply there so they could read the set lists at each of their feet. A very smart idea if you ask me.
“Bohemian Groove” is the only song with “groove” in its title, but every song had people dancing and grooving. Looking around the venue, audience members were dancing, swaying, singing, or jumping just like the band. Matt in particular never stood still and made for quite an awkwardly entertaining dancer with his lanky body. Chad somehow managed to get unbelievable air with jumps that he didn’t even prep for. It was like he was wearing spring-loaded shoes. Maybe he was.
The Bottleneck was a perfect venue for State Radio, the rawness and precise heaviness of their show would have been lost in a larger venue, especially since Chad makes each concert very personal, taking time to tell sort stories of their touring adventures, and thanking the family who had made them lunch earlier that day. Like the band’s music, their concert was rather politically charged. They made sure to show their support for Iraq War veterans, gay rights, and marriage equality. In fact, they had a table devoted to raising awareness on the marriage legal benefits that heterosexual couples receive and that same-sex couples are still fighting for. While the Bottleneck was not packed, but it had a decent amount of people and all of them seemed like enthusiastic fans, and if an audience member wasn’t a fan, I’m sure they were after seeing this passionate performance. State Radio displayed passion for music, their hometown, equality, and their fans.
State Radio on Tour
| 11/29 @ Metro Chicago, IL |
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| 11/30 @ El Mocambo Toronto, ON |
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| 12/01 @ Water Street Music Hall Rochester, NY |
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| 12/06 @ Higher Ground Burlington, VT |
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| 12/07 @ Slipper Room Chadwick Stokes & Friends New York, NY |
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| 12/08 @ Webster Hall New York, NY |
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| 12/14 @ The Sinclair Chadwick Stokes & Friends Cambridge, MA |
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| 12/15 @ House of Blues Boston, MA |
