Plain Jane Automobile - Bowery Electric, NYC 5.14.11

Saturday night was Plain Jane Automobile's last CD release show at the Bowery Electric to celebrate the release of Your Tomorrow, and I was glad I got to be there. The turnout was really fantastic - I had arrived a bit early (doors were at 730) and there was really no one there by the time the first opening band, Two Lights, played to an almost empty room (too bad, they were quite good) and then the second opening band Sons of George continued to warm the crowd. By the time Plain Jane was ready to come on, it was pretty full. They never fail to put on a great show, and Saturday night was no exception. The set started off with the single, You Were Only a Song and it did the exact thing that it does on the album - really set the tone for the rest of the night. I loved hearing these songs live - they are so fabulous on the album, and live the songs just came to life.

Plain Jane played most of the album, as well as some old favorites - Stones, Starving Streets, (both of which are on the album) and closed with Blue Jeans (which was a pleasant surprise, its been one of my favorites for a long time). But the highlight for me was hearing Please Leave Quietly. It's been my favorite song on the album since I first heard it for its haunting melodic quality (I tend to gravitate towards those kinds of songs for some reason), and not only did they play it, but Duke gave me a shout out beforehand which I was so not expecting! I guess he remembered that I had told him awhile ago that it was my favorite song and surprised the hell out of me. I thought I would cry when I heard it live - and didn't - but had major goosebumps up and down my arms the entire time. More than anything, I want to hear that song stripped down with just an acoustic guitar and when I talked to Duke after he said that he'd probably do it eventually.  Your Tomorrow was also a highlight and sounds fantastic live, just like I thought it would. The whole set absolutely rocked and was over far too soon.

The music was fantastic, the room was packed, people were dancing - and it was the best possible way to celebrate their album release. The show wrapped up fairly early - before 11 - and we all hung out for awhile, had another drink, and chatted. I knew a lot of people there who I hadn't seen in awhile so it was great to catch up and I even ran into Jimmy Gnecco, which was a fun surprise. After hanging for awhile, we said our goodbyes and left. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to be there. And I am so proud of the boys for this album. Its definitely going to get them noticed, I think. If you haven't picked it up yet, you can do so here on their web site!

All photos from this show are here, please credit if used.