Review and Photos: Tea Leaf Green @ Bowery Ballroom

Tea Leaf Green @ Bowery Ballroom – June 1

Review and Photos: Andrew Blackstein

On the first day of June; New York City was experiencing a break from the unusual late May heat. Supported by The Spring Standards, Tea Leaf Green captivated New York City at Bowery Ballroom on the first Manhattan stop after their most recent album release.

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[All Photos by Andrew Blackstein]

In The Wake just might be the band’s strongest LP as a five-piece. Trevor Garrod (keys, vocals), Josh Clark (guitar, vocals), Scott Rager (drums), Reed Mathis (bass, vocals) and Cochrane McMillan (percussion) worked an entire year on this project without testing any of the new material on the road…until this tour. The Bowery Ballroom filled with eager fans buzzing about this newly created art. But before TLG was to hit the stage, The Spring Standards impressed with passionate lyrics and catchy folk tunes. James Cleare, Heather Robb and James Smith share the vocal and instrumental duties while they poured energy and soul into the hour-long opening slot. As Tea Leaf Green made their way down the backstage steps of the Bowery, many excited concert attendees took the opportunity to get a closer view of the action. The band would follow their previous night’s pattern by playing In The Wake from front to back without skipping a track to start the show.

With a sound unlike anything they have ever created, In The Wake is a breath of fresh air. While the record contains certain recurring themes it doesn’t come across as a concept record, but rather a complete story told through music, thus making it feel and sound like a journey. It proved an easy transition to the live stage. In a unique way of meshing genres, the San Francisco-based quintet achieved what jam bands sometimes have a difficult time doing in the studio, making a record that reflects the personalities of the band members without being too flashy. While songs like Give Me One More Chance and One Condition’s Enough have other vocalists on the record, Reed Mathis and Josh Clark pick up the parts in the live setting, adding the type of robust emotion that has come to be expected from Tea Leaf Green.

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The warm crowd response only intensified with a Baseball Jam that saw a fan give an actual Baseball to Reed to sign. Not missing a beat, the bassist got the entire band to sign the ball and gave it back to the fan while still maintaining the back-groove to the crowd favorite. In the night’s final nod to their new baby, In The Wake producer Jeremy Black was invited to sit in as a third percussion player on All Washed Up.

The vibe at the Bowery on this particular Saturday night was very similar to the way things appear to work on the West Coast. Both fans and band alike seemed in no rush to be anywhere else. As I noted to myself halfway through the show, I was witnessing something strange to see these days: the vast majority of the audience on this night didn’t have their cell phones out texting, taking pictures and checking social media, but rather engaged in the moment by dancing and smiling.

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