A review of The Living ROom, NYC!

Oh yeah I was gonna tell you about the RED/SONY music showcase we had for Elisa Girlando at the Livingroom in NYC wasn't eye.

Well I took the day off from work to be well rested (cause I new if I made any mistakes playing Phil would kill me), so no mistakes here. We left for the city at 2:30 pm cause the traffic into the city can be at best unpredictable and at worst a nightmare. More on traffic later.

Getting to the club was uneventful (how we like it), so was setting up through our sound check. Getting to the club reasonably early lets you get the vibe for the place going. I was feeling very confident.

After our sound check we had about 1 hour to start getting ready.So folks started to pop in. That's always a good sign. During the check ELisa was hitting the songs perfect so our collective confidence was growing. I cant say enough to bands out there that you need to rehearse and rehearse so when the real thing comes you're not thinking and just grooven. Doing the dress rehearsal at the sound stage was a pain, but man did it pay dividends Thursday night at the Living room NYC.

I know record folks like these early (7pm) weeknight shows cause they get done with work, have something to eat, see the show and go home. But man they are a pain if you and your fans live in Jersey!

I new we had one chance to make a first impression and I wanted to make sure we had a large turnout, so I called in some BIG favors and got a bus to take people to the show!The bus trip is becoming legendary. Apparently a lot of these people don't get out much. Add to that no food, a lot of alcohol, and a few old time partying type instigators.Combine this with a ton of traffic and you have a "cougars gone wild" party bus with total mayhem and a side order of "girls gone wild".

We were into our set when the bus arrived but we all could feel the presence of the people staggering in. It was an energy boost like the Calvary arriving. We did not need it but boy it sure sealed the deal.

The band played flawlessly, Elisa Girlando sang like a star and the people in the audience new they had something special. After the show I talked briefly with Alan Becker VP at RED. He seemed blown away. Told me how good it was and how large the crowd was. He went out on a line to set this up and I think he was feeling pretty good about the results. We will meet with SONY/RED in the coming weeks to refine our game plan and I will keep you all posted.

Problems we did have a few:

1. Amanda Carl who co-wrote the original songs was not allowed into the show because she was under age! (bogus)

2. Doorman was a bit of an ASS harassing people a little; very unnecessary!

3. A bus member vomited on Bob the President of RED!!! I think it was either a near miss or a shoe slopper but that is gonna cost me some shoe polish next time I see him!

4. Elisa's mom ,Donna, was on the infamous bus and was upset at the carrying on and that the bus was 10-15 minutes late. She never was late for a show before and that upset her very much

5. We had to stop playing even though it was a sellout and people were going crazy cause another group was due on at 8pm. Club could have let us go on with the crowd we brought them.

recap. We sold the place out, played as good as we could took them all to school about how good players can be supporting a singer and had a real powerhouse vocalist who stole the show. The following quote from Andy Gesner of HIP video promotion sums it all up:

"Speaking of performances, I wanted to congratulate and applaud you on the outstanding performance you had last night in New York City. Realizing that Elisa is still a very young artist, I was concerned that the packed room and all the pressure might be visible. Boy, was I wrong! Her confidence and incredible voice stole the show, and the overall presentation was magnificent. The musicianship was stellar, and there was a palpable sense of love and positive energy just washing over the room. Now more than ever, I’m thrilled that you will be a part of our big event in just two weeks(maxwells show Hoboken NJ)!"

dave.hitplay