The Long Winters @ Union Hall

Last night [April 2nd], The Long Winters played Union Hall in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I've seen The Long Winters about 4 times since last August, and they've always played a solid set and I always have a good time. This is partly because when you go to a Long Winters show, you not only get to see the band, you get to hear John Roderick's stand-up routine. Well, not really...But it feels like that because John takes a break in between most songs to make a joke of some kind, to take requests, or his favorite, to "argue" with someone in the crowd. So I know that when I go see The Long Winters, I'm going to see good music and laugh my ass off at the same time. Good combination, no?

While they did play a good set last night, including songs from all three of their albums, there was something amiss with the sound. Everything sounded muffled, guitars were slightly out of tune, levels were unbalanced, mics were feeding back, etc...Throughout the entire set, John was trying to get the sound guy to fix things. Maybe they didn't have time for a good sound check? Or maybe the sound at Union Hall sucks? I don't know.

Suffice it to say, though, that during their acoustic portion of the set, things were going well. It was just John and Eric up there, playing acoustic guitar and bass respectively. They did 3 or 4 songs like this, including "Mimi," "Seven" and "Bride and Bridle." After their little acoustic number, the rest of the band came up and they finished the show with a few more songs, ending with "Stupid" (against John's will!). Other highlights during the set include "The Commander Thinks Aloud," "Rich Wife," "Pushover" (MP3 below), "Scared Straight" (<3 style organ) and "Shapes."

DOWNLOAD: The Long Winters - "Pushover" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Long Winters - "Stupid" (MP3
Cross-posted at Skank Your Art.