By: Andrea Myers
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LIttle Man's new lineup - Ben Foote (left), Chris Pericelli (middle) and Ryan Otte (right)
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Saturday night, The Nomad World Pub on the West Bank hosted the official "Little Man Birthday Show." It was my first time at the Nomad, and I had a great experience. The bands and the venue itself provided a warm and fuzzy atmosphere on this unexpectedly cold night, helped along by Brigid Kelly, Little Man frontman Chris Perricelli's girlfriend, (rumored to be the reason Perricelli resides in Minnesota) who flitted through the room like a breath of fresh air, passing out fresh flowers, animal crackers, and candy to the "birthday party" guests.
First to take the stage was solo act Mike Nicolai. As Nicolai started singing, I was immediately reminded of other local hard-working songwriters like Dan Israel and Martin Devaney. Like his peers, Nicolai writes songs with introspective lyrics about the struggles of life as an artist. Unfortunately, due to the quiet nature of his material and the fact that he was the first to take the stage, it was often difficult to hear him over the people filing into the bar and ordering their first round – too bad as he was laying down pure gold. I am going to be purchasing an album and keeping my eye on this one.
Next up was Heavy Sleeper, the brainchild of Marcel Galang (The Hang Ups, Dearly). Heavy Sleeper puts out a great wall of sound with clean indie-rock chord progressions and tight, foot-tapping beats. The vocal melodies were catchy and the harmonies were downright charming. It was immediately obvious that Galang is passionate about his band's sound, as he seemed critical of the sound balance and stage lighting. "I feel like a bunch of bats," he remarked about the dimly lit stage. Such imperfections, if they existed, were not felt by the crowd, and Heavy Sleeper effectively got the energy flowing in preparation for the main act.
The first time I saw Little Man was exactly one week prior at the Hexagon Bar, a show at which they were overshadowed by the presence of Ike Reilly in the audience and on the stage during their set. In spite of -- or maybe because of -- that distraction, Little Man gained a lot of new fans last week. I said it to my neighbor at the Hexagon that night and I will say it again here: this band is really good. I recognized band leader Chris Perricelli from his previous job as grunt worker/guitar tech for Reilly; it is now clear that he deserves to be bossing around a few roadies of his own.
Together with his relatively new bandmates (Ben Foote -- bass guitar, backing vocals; and Ryan Otte -- drums), Perricelli's output is a finely-crafted tribute to rock and roll. The songs are so aurally pleasing that they feel familiar, even while the band's sound is unique and not easily compared to other acts. Perricelli’s talent on guitar is incredible, and his voice has a sensitivity lacking in contemporary rock music. At times I was reminded of George Harrison's vocals in "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," the way his vocals float and dance with the contrasting power chords and heavy drum beats, creating symphonic delight.
Most of the songs Little Man played Saturday night were not from their recent album Big Rock, which leads me to believe that they are preparing material for a new album. Judging from the quality of their new music, the next record will be a big step in the right direction for Little Man.
Location Info:
Nomad World Pub
Artist Info: Heavy Sleeper, Little Man, Mike Nicolai
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