Toy Soldiers culminated the release of their Bill Moriarty-produced album The Maybe Boys this past Friday night with a jovial record release party at Johnny Brenda’s. Boston natives, Kingsley Flood opened the evening with an intriguing set that included folk-oriented rock to hard-driving songs with a pop-punk appeal all accentuated with regularly incorporated use of horns and violin.
However, once the main attraction hit the stage the night truly began anew. The quintet started off with new album closer “Tomorrow to Today,” gradually easing into the festivities before appropriately catching the song’s smooth tumbling groove. A few songs later, Gallo’s crowd-charging harmonica solo launched into “Been Here All of My Days,” and the band followed suit, laying the groundwork for a tight jamming set that expectedly showcased the vast majority of The Maybe Boys wares. However, unsurprisingly since the album has been in the works for a while, a few of the “new” songs in the set were even newer, including “Street Sweeper” which proceeded “Been Here All of My Days.”
On “Weeping Willow,” a song that finds drummer, Dominic Billet on lead vocals, the band appeared to catch full power and never looked back, and the crowd enthusiastically and appreciatively reciprocated. A Sparklehorse cover “Knives of Summertime” served as a solid change of pace, but “This Old Town” emphatically re-established the fiery energy level with New Orleans-style boogie vibes that transformed into a full on jamming speed stomper. It was also followed by another new one, “I Know It’s Hard.” Gallo’s vocals on “Throw Me Down” demonstrated the dual-nature of his singing style, somehow translating a raw-guttural emotion in a smooth powerful manner. This memorable evening was completed with an encore of “I’m a Hog for You” and “Love Ya Like I love Ya.”
Toy Soldiers demonstrated their ability to captivate an audience, performing with an energetic, hold-nothing-back mentality, while still remaining a polished unit where each member exhibits their musical expertise, and the cumulative results are spot on. There’s nothing indecisive about this group of “Maybe Boys.” And if you missed this performance, you’ll have a second opportunity to catch them live for Out Of Town Films’ “pop-up conert” happening tomorrow evening. To find out more info about it, send a RSVP to outoftownfilms@gmail.com. (Photo by Brian Johnson) – Michael Colavita