“We’re really rocking this boat!” screamed Macpodz bassist, Brennan Andes, through a dancing crowd of sweaty eligibles. And rock that boat they did. And well, so did the waves beneath, keeping the Podz’s five members off balance all night as they juggled through lively party grooves keeping the crowd floor-burning and most importantly, satiated.

But before the Podz took stage, the crowd got their collective feet wet to Orange Television, a four-piece rock ensemble formed just seven months ago in Umass Amherst. Drawing in a crowd from the busy bar beneath, OTV surprised the crowd, played like they were just a hop, skip and a jump away from their own headlining show.  Playing more like a college basement party show (on a boat!) than a formal “gig,” the intimate party atmosphere kept the audience engaged and interactive throughout the three-hour cruise.  After their half-hour set followed by a half hour break, the sun finally set and the party was settling in just fine. The bar was bumping, the deck was jiving and the Podz finally took their place.

The crowd grew slowly, sprawling out of every orifice of the small boat, but the entire place buzzed with the vigor of a drunk sailor. Luckily, the crowd never grew too large as people seemed to take shifts, shuffling in and out of the stuffy stage area. Although the concert-goers could take frequent breaks from the musky concert interior by chilling out on the breezy deck, the Podz members had no such luck. Drenched in sweat and lungs expired, Macpodz member Ross Huff put down his trumpet and kneeled on the floor catching a much needed break as percussionist Nick Ayers maxed out with a beer. Andes and drummer Griffin Bastian held the groove tight until the whole crew was ready have at it again. Playing all the way up until the boat finally hit the dock, the Macpodz left nothing on the table and showed why they’re being called the best thing from Ann Arbor since. . .well, since the Macpodz.

If you missed the show you can catch them around the country over the next couple months.  They’ll be playing at Connecticut festival Gathering Of The Vibes this weekend, and they’ll be back in the New York area for Moe.Down on September 3.

www.themacpodz.com
www.myspace.com/otv

- Aryeh Carni

Tags: Macpodz, Orange Television, Rocks Off Concert Cruise

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 1:28 pm and is filed under Concert Reviews & Photos, Interns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.