Words by Jason Donnelly Photos by Dino Perrucci Flannel season is upon us in Port Chester! This sold-out show was packed to the brim with a super diverse audience filled with kids, adults, and I’m 82% sure Kate McKinnon (from SNL) was on one of the balconies. A surprising part about the show is just how many people came to multiple nights of the 3-night residency and the people who stood in front of me sparked the night by saying, “it’s going to be hard to beat last night’s performance!” The show kicked off with seven of them on stage and a few in a circle with a piano, stand-up bass, cello, fiddle, guitar, banjo, and drums. From the first song to the last (setlist below) the band blasted out pure energy with a crowd more receptive than most. With so many people in the space, they looked more like waves in an ocean than people. During “Rejects in the Attic” the crowd was quiet enough to truly appreciate how incredible the sound system is at The Capitol. Every note was crisp and made you appreciate what it’s like to hear the brilliance of the room’s acoustics. The band also had a light show that played off the songs in a way I haven’t seen recently. They moved between light and darkness throughout the set and even had a gorgeous rainbow light show at one point. If I was going to describe the band to someone who’d never seen them before, I would have to include the word possessed, because during some songs they got so into it that it was like they weren’t up there alone. It was more of a sermon than a show and they definitely made me believe in what they were preaching. At one point Bob Crawford was singing and playing guitar alone on stage to “Letter To A Pretty Girl” and someone in the crowd had an emergency and everyone banded together to take care of them and get help. The show stopped for a few minutes, but as soon as all was clear, he dove back in. It was great to see an audience not only take care of each other but fall right back into the groove of the evening. They did one of the best covers of “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” that I’ve ever seen and after so many songs, they only got rowdier. It was a sight to see the band almost feeding off of the energy of the room and getting faster and louder and heavier the further into the night they went. It all ended around 10:45, after over two hours of insanely tight music and the band looked like they could (and wanted to) continue playing deep into the night. I can’t pick a favorite part about the night, but as they told us, they’re working on a new album right now and I’ll be in line to pick it up. Thanks all! Setlist: True Sadness Die Die Die Rejects in the Attic Distraction #74 May It Last Geraldine Soldier's Joy / Rock That Cradle Lucy Satan Pulls the Strings I Wish I Was Letter to a Pretty Girl Trouble Letting Go Orion's Belt Mama Tried (Merle Haggard cover) Roses & Sacrifice Ain't No Man The Perfect Space Down With The Shine Thank God I'm a Country Boy (John Denver cover) Murder in the City Divorce Separation Blues A Frog Went A-Courting (traditional cover sung in Korean by Joe Kwon) Salina Pretty Girl From Chile Morning Song Laundry Room Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise Encore: No Hard Feelings The Clearness Is Gone Life