Bishop Allen @ The Outer Space (Ballroom), 10/14/14

Whimsically catchy indie pop is something of a mastered craft for Kingston, NY band Bishop Allen. With simple, effective hooks and melodies, we were sucked into a live performance of theirs for the second time in a couple of months. Their latest album, Lights Out, had just been released when we saw them at Glasslands. This time at The Outer Space in Hamden, CT, we were treated to a stellar mix of new and old tracks.

Again anchored by Justin Rice on guitar and vocals, we heard quality new tracks like “Start Again” and “Why I Had To Go”, while experiencing some awesome older material like “Click, Click, Click, Click” and “Like Castanets”. There’s a great balance between him and his bandmates on stage. This date capped off the final leg of their tour in support of the new album. We’ll hope for a shorter period of dormancy between albums this time around for Bishop Allen.

Synth rock group Roses provided Bishop Allen with the first bit of opening support on the bill. It is led by guitarest Andrew Tobiassen (formerly of Deer Tick), whose vox/instrumentals get reinforced by a pair of band members dropping in synthesizers and looping in drum beats. They performed material ranging from melancholy to dancey.

New York City based rock group, The Shivers, all joined the lineup for the evening, offering up some more somber feels to the night. On lead guitar, Keith Zarriello undoubtedly contributed some of the most dynamic guitar to the evening, injected some wicket solos into their tracks. The played a gritty set filled with many degrees of attitude lyrically and instrumentally.

Check out the complete photo set here!

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