On Thursday, I ventured to PJ's Lager House for the first time to experience Texas quintet, The Youngest and was pleasantly surprised. On tour supporting their debut album, the small crowd at first paid attention quietly, but by the end of their set, the band had everyone in the palms of their hands, even a few dancing. Currently on tour supporting their latest album, Feral Road, there are still plenty of chances to catch The Youngest perform.
Katie Benz, singing lead in the majority of songs seemingly dug deep into her core, singing soulfully, grabbing and keeping the attention of the audience. She is the prime example of why seeing music live trumps recorded music in any genre at any time. In between each song, instead of awkward silences and tiny sips of alcohol, the drummer (whose name escapes me since there are two John's in the band and a singer/guitar player who is fond of fabrics who also has a beard, and the more than attractive bass player) cracked jokes, even mentioning spending his 25th birthday in Detroit, blacking out, and waking up in a stranger's home.
As with too many bands, recordings just don't do bands justice anymore. As a person who can and will enjoy live music 7 days a week if possible, schedule in pen, not pencil, a time to see The Youngest. They even successfully and covered "Electric Feel" by MGMT. Luckily these nice people gave me an album and guitar pic, which will be given away at a later date to lucky readers of Motor City Blog. For now, stream the album here ("Woe to Me" and "Our Town" are my two personal favorites) and also keep tabs on the band here. Tour continues to my home state of Ohio this weekend with dates in Cincinnati tonight and Columbus on Sunday.