Review: The Crystal Casino Band @ Lilypad 3/29
Photo credits: Cagla Akcada
Review by Deja Tribbitt
I’m cursing myself for not wearing a thicker jacket as I stand outside of The Lilypad on a cold and drizzly night in Cambridge. The venue was supposed to open ten minutes ago, but that’s not the only reason I’m itching to get inside. Tonight, I’m here to see The Crystal Casino Band, and I’m not the only one. The sold-out show has a line extending into the dark street farther than I can see. My only concern is if we’ll all actually fit inside.
The Crystal Casino Band is an alternative rock band started by a group of friends at The George Washington University in 2015. The current lineup includes Joey Mamlin on drums, Jordan Mullaney on bass, Jarrod Hendricks on guitar, and Peter Stevens III on guitar and vocals. The band is known for their 2010s indie vibes and the socially conscious messages present in their songs. They have released five albums as well as several singles and EPs, the most recent being the single “29.”
The show’s opener was an alternative rock band called The Town. Local to Boston, the band consists of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Alex Murphy, lead guitarist Mitch Gamma, bass guitarist Shawn Gentilcore, and drummer Kyle Cedrone. The band’s music was hard to get a grasp on. The mic was almost completely drowned out by the band’s instruments, making it near impossible to hear the lyrics. The music was sonically pleasing, but without distinct lyrics, the performance lacked enough identity to really distinguish it from other bands. In the second half of the performance, the band switched to performing covers of iconic rock songs, which instantly hyped up the crowd.
With the energy still high, The Crystal Casino Band launched into their set. They start out with some high-tempo songs that get the crowd going. Despite the fact that we were packed in like sardines, the band has no trouble getting the audience to dance. Even though I can’t really see them through the crowd, I can feel the energy radiating off of the musicians and bouncing off the walls. The band definitely put on a dynamic show, with the members moving around on the small stage as much as they could. Special shout-out to guitarist Hendricks for playing his guitar behind his head. The group played a good mix of songs from across their discography, with “Potomac” and their new single “29” being standouts.
The band also had a great rapport with the audience. During the show, they would interact with the people at the front and respond to callouts from the audience. During the final song of the night, “Twenty-something Socialist,” a song about the disillusionment that young people have with the current social status quo, Stevens, the vocalist, ran through the crowd, high-fiving everyone in the audience. After that, he taught the audience the words to the final bridge of the song and invited everyone to sing it with the band. Throughout the show, the band had made it clear that they were incredibly grateful for their fans having sold out the show, so inviting them to be part of the performance was the perfect end to the show. If you get the chance, go check out The Crystal Casino Band.