Arts and Culture
Looking For Arts & Culture Exclusives? Get Your Cheeky Card!It has been quite an eventful year for local indie rockers, Brighton, MA. The band has received praiseworthy press for its latest release, Amateur Lover, and their single, “Bet You Never Thought”, was recently featured on last week’s episode of Gossip Girl. The band headlines Schubas’ monthly Practice Space series for the entire month of February. Cheeky was in attendance this week to witness the band whose name has lately been on the tip of everyone’s tongue…
Brighton, MA took the stage around 11 pm, but they had Schubas packed well before their set time. Eager fans crammed into the small venue as the band began their set, unveiling its Americana-rock sound. The band was comfortable onstage, taking time to introduce its newest addition, bassist Jon Ozaksut, who seemed to fit right in with the band’s look and sound. They played standout songs, including “War of the Roses” and “Underground”, as well as new, unreleased material that the band tried out on its hometown crowd.
“Sunblinded”, a palpable highlight of the evening, featured an infectious chorus, standout bass line and crooning guitar tones. Singer/guitarist, Matthew Kerstein, showcases his poetic approach to songwriting in this song, his vocals expressing worlds of yearning as he sings, “We tried in vain, we knew it could never last…I guess I just want to be sun-blinded. Everybody wants to be sun-blinded.”
The evident standout of the show was “Bet You Never Thought.” The song evoked such emotion in me upon my first time hearing it. I wasn’t surprised to see that I was not the only one who reacted this way to the song, as upon its first notes played, the audience was captivated. Kerstein again displays his poetic lyrics, filled with words of longing as he sings, “You sit and you think of the tears you would shed if you let yourself cry. I bet you never thought it would be like this.” The song itself is along the lines of a classic David Bowie ballad (think “Heroes”), but layered with raw emotion and tied with the heart strings of anyone who has ever felt nostalgia, love or love-lost.
It may have been a whirlwind year for Brighton, MA, but the group returns to its Chicago roots (at least for February), nodding to the city that has backed them every step of the way. If you missed their last two shows, you still have two more chances to catch them at such an intimate venue. They headline Schubas’ Practice Space February 16th and February 23rd.
Visit Brighton, MA at www.myspace.com/brightonma.
Photo by Ron Gurule
