All along this recent stretch of Augustines‘ tour of the Northeast, a trail of Instagram photos and tweets from other cities hinted at the magic that concluded each of the Brooklyn band’s sets. After performing for an hour-plus plugged-in and on stage, pulling from both Augustines records as well as a throwback Pela song (last night it was “Waiting On The Stairs”) the band would jump into the crowd and play a few songs stripped down.
“Loud rock and roll” Augustines is great and all, but it’s the raw, acoustic performances that show just how emotionally powerful this band can be.
Last night at Brighton Music Hall, the band delivered on the acoustic encore — twice. First, Billy McCarthy, Eric Sanderson, and Ron Allen zipped through the crowd after their regular set and jumped up on the long, main bar of the Allston venue. After permission was granted by the bartender, the trio unexpectedly performed the Pela song “Strange Days.” Yes, the video above is SUPER Dark — they don’t put stage lighting on the bar.
After the song, McCarthy said the intent on playing among the crowd was lost by being so high up on the bar, so the band jumped down and performed a handful of tracks, including the Pela fan-favorite (aren’t they all?), “Trouble With River Cities.”
The crowd filled in around them and sat quietly on the floor of Brighton Music Hall as the band performed unplugged. McCarthy dubbed it “Camp Augustines.”
Yes, it’s another dark video, but again, there are no stage lights on the floor of the rock club, and the venue made the right decision in not pulling up the house lights. It added to the drama.