Jack + Eliza at New York’s Mercury Lounge

Jack + Eliza

New York – Jack + Eliza, comprised of childhood friends Jack Staffen and Eliza Callahan played a homecoming show at Mercury Lounge.  The band had just returned from a short UK tour that saw them play Dot to Dot festival, showcasing a variety of up and coming acts, across the three UK cities of Nottingham, Bristol and Manchester.  Returning stateside, the duo, who are already signed to indie label Yebo and are soon to release their debut LP Gentle Warnings (as reviewed here by BestNewBands), played to a crowded venue filled with people eager to hear the unassuming pair’s thoughtful and melodic tracks brought to life.

The natural performance chemistry of the pair was immediately obvious and endearing, as well as their clear joy in performing their songs live.  It was apparent Staffen and Callahan felt just as at home on stage as they do in Callahan’s parents’ East Village apartment, which doubles at their studio space.  Playing from a catalogue of tracks that included past singles as well as tracks from their upcoming debut LP, the two kept the energy high and received an enthusiastic response throughout their low-key performance, which in its stripped back simplicity did the trick of transporting audience members to that nostalgic era of music carried by pure musical talent, without the aid of any computers, synths, or flashing lights.

The effortless synchrony of the pair called to mind two musicians developed past their years, yet perhaps slightly unaware of the impact their songs created.  The show conveyed the atmosphere of an intimate invitation into such a place as perhaps Staffen and Callahan’s living room where they record and practice, and seemed almost to convey a studio session where the audience could witness something special be cultivated.  Despite the large crowd they drew, their set seemed the perfect soundtrack to having a drink in a quaint little bar time forgot about.  However, their set was by no means background music, and captured the attention of the crowded bar with little to no effort.  Soft-spoken but oozing with an innate and instinctive confidence, the band allowed the music to do the talking and despite their obvious technical capabilities as serious musicians, their easygoing on-stage demeanors kept the set light and fun and a delight to watch.

Highlights included a perfectly on point rendition of both new track “Backwards Shirts” and new single “Oh No”, as well as past favourite “Hold the Line” that made it easy to see why the band has already received so much acclaim.  “We have one, actually two, last songs to play for you”, announced Callahan, and their simple no-frills approach and precise playing made the set go by far more quickly than you would expect.

If you’re on the West Coast you can catch Jack + Eliza on tour with Hamilton Leithauser of The Walkmen, before they return to NYC once again on July 25th for a gig at The Wick in Brooklyn as part of Gigawatts Festival.

Keep up with  Jack + Eliza via their Facebook and Twitter pages.

Photo by Ruby Hoffman

 

Ruby Hoffman

Ruby Hoffman

Ruby Hoffman spends a lot of time pretending playing French electro house music is enjoyable to the Carroll Gardens moms who shop at the boutique she works at, and also wondering when Jack Bevan of Foals will reply to her tweets.Having recently discovered the phrase ‘trashy electronica’, she aspires to DJ this genre one day, and in the meantime lives a stereotypical gentrified existence in Bushwick, where she spends too much money on vintage clothes, coffee and art books.She has an MFA in Poetry from the University of Manchester, and hopes to be back in England sooner rather than later working for a label, continuing to appreciate weird synths as well as Kanye West, and getting people to care about bands with 100 likes as much as she does.
Ruby Hoffman

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  1. Pingback: Jack + Eliza debut "White Satin" song and video

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