19 December 2006

Cheyenne @ Lakeside Lounge - 15 December 2006

Can I put in something like: this is American music, take one. One two three four...

After the first three bands played the outstanding Neon Lights show on Friday night I decided to skip out a bit early to catch a band I've been wanting to see for about a year now. Seems silly that it's taken me this long to finally see Cheyenne live, I mean I first posted about them...uh, shit wow. It was one year to the day from when I first posted until when I finally saw them live. Amazing.

So, I left The Delancey and headed up to Lakeside Lounge with a friend. He was going to see Cheyenne just based upon my suggestion that he might like them but I wanted to give him a little heads up as to what kind of music to expect. I told him that their music is solid middle of America music. It's intimate rock with country tendencies that would please fans of bands like Wilco and Bob Dylan and pretty much anyone who enjoys their poetic lyrics with a nice helping of a quietly melodic, solid rock band backing them up. There's even more to them than that description but it lies in the nuances of their sound. When I first heard their music a year ago, Cheyenne left quite an impression on me. So, naturally, I was anxious to finally see them perform in, what I considered to be, the perfect venue for their music.

Unfortunately we arrived in the middle of their set but right away they put a smile on my face. The band, the venue, the whole experience, was exactly what I'd been itching to see (and quite a perfect contrast to the show I'd just come from). Cheyenne played their music in the low light of Lakeside Lounge to a group of seated fans. Not just an audience, but fans. People who've clearly discovered the goodness of the band for themselves and were wearing their appreciation proudly in the form of mouthing/singing along to the lyrics, dancing, and...believe it or not...NOT talking during the songs. The band itself thoroughly impressed me with their unity, demeanor, and delivery. I really enjoyed (what I believe to be) their newer songs that aren't on the album I was given, and I left feeling lucky to have seen them in an intimate setting/dive bar knowing full well that a band as talented as Cheyenne is going to end up selling tickets at larger venues across the country in very little time. Do you like American music?

Visit Cheyenne on MySpace.

You can check Cheyenne's upcoming schedule HERE.

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