At 8:40pm on Thursday night when the lights dimmed and the pre-recorded music stopped playing, the crowd's jabber came to a screeching halt as the room excitedly waited for Bronze Radio Return. Finally each member of the sextet strode out on stage, waving calmly at the fans while gathering his instrument. A quick 1-2-3-4 led to a break out of Up, On, And Over that began a slew of crowd-pleasers including Before I Get There, Everything Moves, and Strawberry Fields.
The next morning my face still hurt from smiling through the entire two hour set. The band’s six players – Chris Henderson on vocals and guitar; Rob Griffith on drums; Bob Tanen on bass; Matt Warner on keyboards; Patrick Fetkowitz on lead guitar; and Chris Struble on Harmonica and Banjo – combined their talents and energies seamlessly to put together a lively, soulful show. And it was obvious that they were having an incredible time performing.
Henderson used huge single Melting in My Icebox as an opportunity for a singalong, instructing the crowd – “I’ll sing ‘Turning into water,’ and then you sing it back to me.” After a few times through he invited Warner and Fetkowitz to join in, telling the audience, “Okay, don’t give up on me now!” The set also included huge hits Light Me Up and Only Temporary. The entire lineup flowed so nicely I barely noted the absence of two of my favorite tracks – Worth Wondering and Wonder No More; I wouldn’t have changed any aspect of the performance.
Each band member went out of his way to include the audience in the show – making it way more of an “experience” than just a “concert.” Warner regularly looked out and smiled at the audience, nodding his head along with his more punctuated cords. About halfway through the set bassist Tanen loosened up, dancing around in his post next to the drum set. Fetkowitz and Struble interacted throughout the show, challenging each other through solo portions while Struble stole the show with his harmonica.
After a few more songs, Henderson grinned at the crowd saying, “We’re nearing the end of our official set. But we could probably be convinced to, you know, play a few more.” Amidst the crowd’s screams, he invited indie/rock opening band Air Traffic Controllers back on stage to sing a verse of the main set’s final song, Down There.
A brief pause let the tension mount before the band took the stage again for what Henderson prefaced as a “three song encore” that began with Mister, Mister. The group slowed things down a bit with ballad Good Company before closing with hit Shake Shake Shake, which featured a lively guitar-banjo battle toward the end.
At the best concerts, the band has almost as much fun as the audience – and it’s impossible to tell who enjoyed Bronze Radio Return’s DC show more. The band’s high-quality, stable sound on recording is amplified live, taking each song to new levels. Give BRR’s music a listen and check them out online!
The next morning my face still hurt from smiling through the entire two hour set. The band’s six players – Chris Henderson on vocals and guitar; Rob Griffith on drums; Bob Tanen on bass; Matt Warner on keyboards; Patrick Fetkowitz on lead guitar; and Chris Struble on Harmonica and Banjo – combined their talents and energies seamlessly to put together a lively, soulful show. And it was obvious that they were having an incredible time performing.
Henderson used huge single Melting in My Icebox as an opportunity for a singalong, instructing the crowd – “I’ll sing ‘Turning into water,’ and then you sing it back to me.” After a few times through he invited Warner and Fetkowitz to join in, telling the audience, “Okay, don’t give up on me now!” The set also included huge hits Light Me Up and Only Temporary. The entire lineup flowed so nicely I barely noted the absence of two of my favorite tracks – Worth Wondering and Wonder No More; I wouldn’t have changed any aspect of the performance.
Each band member went out of his way to include the audience in the show – making it way more of an “experience” than just a “concert.” Warner regularly looked out and smiled at the audience, nodding his head along with his more punctuated cords. About halfway through the set bassist Tanen loosened up, dancing around in his post next to the drum set. Fetkowitz and Struble interacted throughout the show, challenging each other through solo portions while Struble stole the show with his harmonica.
After a few more songs, Henderson grinned at the crowd saying, “We’re nearing the end of our official set. But we could probably be convinced to, you know, play a few more.” Amidst the crowd’s screams, he invited indie/rock opening band Air Traffic Controllers back on stage to sing a verse of the main set’s final song, Down There.
A brief pause let the tension mount before the band took the stage again for what Henderson prefaced as a “three song encore” that began with Mister, Mister. The group slowed things down a bit with ballad Good Company before closing with hit Shake Shake Shake, which featured a lively guitar-banjo battle toward the end.
At the best concerts, the band has almost as much fun as the audience – and it’s impossible to tell who enjoyed Bronze Radio Return’s DC show more. The band’s high-quality, stable sound on recording is amplified live, taking each song to new levels. Give BRR’s music a listen and check them out online!