The fall was clearly beginning to settle in the Boston area as a chilly crowd swarmed to TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge to soak up the sunny tunes of Family of the Year. While the early hints of winter were anything but foreign to brothers Joe and Sebastian Keefe, who started their musical ventures in Martha's Vineyard, for some of their Californian band mates, Boston was a new scene and a new audience. As a barefooted Joe Keefe and a hot-pantsed Vanessa Long began the opening notes of "Summer Girl," the song acted more as a warm-up which summoned the drinkers of the adjacent bar to the front of the house. Momentum quickly grew, however, as bassist Brent Freaney and keyboardist Christina Schroeter rose to the stage to round out the group. As the band plugged in, an electric version of "Surprise" followed the mellow opener just as it does on their recently released EP "Where's The Sun." As the band loosened up, the opening chords of "Party Time: Hits of the 90's," electrified the audience and brought the set to a higher level. A tambourine-toting Long was locked into a groove with lead guitarist Joe Keefe and both fed off of the energy being channeled by the unique attack drum styles of Sebastian Keefe. The song's appropriate chorus line "I just wanna party all the time," encouraged some of the more ambitious faces in the crowd to rise to the front of the stage and begin dancing. The highlight of the set came in the middle as the band ripped through the nostalgic pop-rock anthem, "Lets Be Honest." Vocal exchanges between Long and Keefe floated above the jangly lead guitar riffs and created a warm buzz in the cozy venue. This song also saw Joe Keefe descend from the stage to show off some guitar chops on the same level as the crowd.
Later in the set, the band paid homage to to the great James Taylor with a cover of "Shower The People." Putting their own spin on the classic tune, the duetted vocals and the supporting instruments helped give the song a full sound and made for an interesting twist on one of those songs that can often feel too familiar. Their take of the song also helped to emphasize an underlying theme of love that was portrayed by the band's entire set. While the group is still in its early stages, their is plenty of reason why the word "family" is included in their title. The long van rides and lack of sleep can catch up with a band that is working to become a household name in the music world, but Family of the Year remained all smiles throughout their set, conveying a shared sense of joy with all who came to listen. If last Thursday's set was a sign of things to come for Family of the Year, don't be surprised to see them rise up in the rankings quite rapidly in the coming year.
Family of the Year will be back at TT's on October 25th. Until then, check out the video below of "Party Time: Hits of the 90's" from last Thursday's show.
www.myspace.com/familyoftheyear
