Last Week Live: The Villagers

This past Thursday the Brooklyn-born band NewVillager made an appearance at the Metro Gallery.

Metro Gallery, definitely one of the more unique venues of Baltimore, is located near Penn Station in the Station North Arts District of Baltimore.

The gallery was furnished with several classy, comfortable rugs, a stage (clearly), a few spaced out tables and of course, an ultra-modern looking bar. On the walls were professionally taken pictures of past shows as well as displays of fine art photography.

Behind the stage, there was a ginormous painting depicting a rainbow cascade of triangles that, at least aesthetically, enhanced both the gallery and performance. The best way to describe this venue is the simple fact that this gallery would be in the arts district – it simply wouldn't belong anywhere else.

The Holy MTN, who opened for NewVillager, is an indie band from around Frederick, Md. The band laid down some great songs and put on an amazing show.  In fact, the lead singer played his Korg keyboard so hard that a key fell off; he didn't miss a beat.

Given the band's proximity to Baltimore and the enthusiastic acceptance of the crowd, there's no doubt they will be back again sometime soon, and seeing them when they are back is definitely recommended.

Even though the opener was good, the show put on by NewVillager was something unreal.

NewVillager is a project of Ben Bromley and Ross Simonini. The two multi-instrumentalists have physically and musically matured together over the years.

Separated for several years while Bromley went to graduate school on the west coast, each began projects of their own. Recently, the two met again in Brooklyn after Bromley moved back to the east coast. Casually, Bromley told me, "we got together, and we started writing some music, and yeah, things happened."

It was readily apparent that the two friends are incredibly music literate and intelligent. It is also apparent that Bromley and Simonini are unique individuals not only in what they believe in but also in the way they practice those beliefs. This becomes easy to see after a look at their Last.fm profile bio, which is highly encouraged.

With regard to the concert, some words need to be said about the stage after the set up by NewVillager. The band members took a full 45 minutes to completely transform the stage — they strung up NewVillager flags, put up strobe lights next to the dance floor, laid down blankets; the whole works.

The most notable mention, however, was what can only be described as a bundle of blankets under what what appeared to be a makeshift tent made out of stilts.

The astounding thing was that this mound was there for hours, throughout NewVillager's set up and even during the opening set, without any disturbance or movement — the audience, appropriately, simply assumed it was a piece of art. It was a gallery after all.

Apparently this bundle was not just a pile of blankets or a piece of art. As the audience found out mid-set, this pile was an interpretive dancer that, in the words of Bromley, "transformed and evolved" through the NewVillager dogma of achieving inner well-being.

Yes, the band had its own take on the cycle of life and well-being; on a way to achieve personal moksha or nirvana. Even from talking to the band for a minute, one could easily understand the gravity and seriousness with which the band regards their dogma.  

This was precisely what was amazing about NewVillager though. Somehow throwing together mixes of electronica, classic-style electric guitar, big beats, indie style and interpretive dancing, the band managed to make a serious and well thought out show that acted as a legitimate supplement to their own beliefs.

The audience was simultaneously tapping its feet, dancing, being fascinated and perplexed by the interpretive dancer and hanging onto every word coming out of Bromley's, the singer, bassist and keyboardist's mouth while Simonini's guitar raged. The show was not just a show but a full on experience.

Regardless, after the reception the Baltimore crowd gave NewVillager, the band is planning another show for some time around Nov. or Dec. This is a show that people should definitely see, and is an excellent way for some Hopkins students to pop the Hopkins bubble and experience something exceptional.