Calla
8 out of 10 - Great. Good show.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Bowery Ballroom, New York
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Photo by Leslie Torre
Out of the darkness on a dimly lit stage, Calla came out in full-force in support of their new album "Strength in Numbers" to the delight of fans. Strutting around stage playing guitar, Aurelio Valle was fully entranced in playing his songs while Peter Gannon (bass) hopped around delivering the goods and Wayne B. Magruder (drums) kept a steady beat.
Though playing a set mostly made up of songs off of "Strength in Numbers," they also visited songs from previous albums going all the way back to "Scavengers." While the crowd were heavily into the show, so were the photographers, as flashes popped in their faces non-stop, but the band soldiered on, powering through songs including "Bronson" and "Sanctify," keeping their set strictly made up of the faster paced songs in their library rather than the slower songs that are equally beautiful. What impresses me about this band is how they create such a warm ambiance in their songs, and it's nice to see that they can more than pull it off live. Equally impressive is the fact that Aurelio can deliver on guitar and sing, which I hear can be quite difficult as a lead singer outside of playing rhythm guitar. It's hard not to like this band. They are nice guys and accessible, which is somewhat of a rare breed as far as the bigger musicians go. When you walk into the bar and see the band hanging out with their fans, making the rounds, and more than happy to talk about Spinal Tap, it's pretty much a deal-closer! Though an underground sensation with five albums under their belt, they are a band worth seeing and worth investing in as good music usually is and Calla are definitely on that list of bands worth the extra effort.
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