Last night was Apollo Run’s final show as the Artist in Residence at Union Hall, a luxuriant Brooklyn venue with bocce ball courts and a library/lounge. I guess in Park Slope it’s true that Thursday is the new Friday: the upstairs barroom was close to packed. A large number of people had come to see Apollo Run, and although they filtered down slowly as opener Ravens And Chimes played, by the time Apollo Run went up, the downstairs showroom was full.

 

Although I’d heard a lot of good things about Apollo Run, I was actually there to see Ravens and Chimes. I’d seen them at Cake Shop back in January at an awesomely diverse show organized by Old Monk, and I wanted to see them again in a different environment.

 

Their set was noticeably low-key, maybe because of the mostly empty room that only filled up towards the end of the set. Frontman Asher Lack cracked some offbeat jokes about having one of those days “where you forget to use the soap.” And as it turned out, their usual bassist cancelled on them two days before the show due to an emergency (“…he had a really important bong rip scheduled,” joked Lack), so Apollo Run’s bassist Jeff Kerestes learned their set just a day before and stood in. The feeling in the room was one of relaxed playfulness, and the band, despite using a completely new bassist, got through their set with easy confidence.

Lack has a voice somewhere between Conor Oberst and Colin Meloy, a soft, low tenor that can burst into intensity in a heartbeat. And like those two songsmiths, at heart he’s a storyteller. Songs like “This Is Where We Are,” and “Division Street,” are brooding, slowly bubbling meditations on dislocation. Drummer Mike Riddelberger and pianist Rebecca Rossi drove these stories expertly, creating the crescendos and subtle mood shifts that define Ravens And Chimes’s sound.

Keyboardist Avery Brooks stuck mostly to the background, warming up the band’s sound with synth patches. The song “In Rooms,” is one of the few to feature a noticeable synth part, which is really too bad. Brooks’s agile playing on that song gives it an edge that can’t be found in Ravens And Chime’s other songs. It was my favorite of their set.

Apollo Run is a three-piece band with an unbelievably eclectic style. Their songs evoke Jeff Buckley, The Mars Volta, Meatloaf, Queen, hints of Reggae and Funk, Blues Rock, you name it. Whatever might be going on, their songs are held together by John McGrew’s soaring vocals and the undeniable chemistry and energy of the band as a whole.

Union Hall has been their home for the month of April, and their familiarity with the crowd and the venue made their set feel intimate, despite the full room of noisy fans and the blaring brass section they brought along with them. Both McGrew (wearing a dark blue jumpsuit adorned with stars) and Jeff Kerestes came off the stage into the crowd, dancing with fans and singing to them directly. On some songs, the front row of the showroom sang along and in harmony with the band.

Speaking of harmony, Kerestes and drummer Graham Fisk added their voices to a number of songs. These three-part harmonies were insanely tight and well crafted. It might just be the The Band fan in me, but Graham Fisk’s vocals especially impressed me; there’s something jaw dropping about drummers who have great voices and the multitasking ability to sing and play at the same time.

All three members of the band were impeccable musicians, but the best moments of the night came from the horn section they’d brought with them. The horns – tenor sax, trombone, and trumpet – played on about half the band’s songs, and the warmth and sheer sound-producing power of these instruments brought out the intensity in Apollo Run’s passionate love songs. According to McGraw, they now include the horns on about 75% of their material, and they definitely make an appearance on Here Be Dragons, vol. 1, their most recent album.

Here Be Dragons, vol. 1 is available for free download from Apollo Run’s website, and vol. II is set to be released in June. Ravens and Chimes has a big tour coming up this summer, but only spotty dates booked so far: the next is May 26^th at Brooklyn Bowl, as part of The Deli’s Best of NYC Fest. Check back in to their site for more dates.