We swung by Johnny Brenda’s this past Saturday for the sweet bill with Hop Along, Secret Mountains and DRGN KING. There were a lot of familiar faces from the local music community gettin’ down. DRGN KING came at us with some heavy guitar riffs courtesy of leading man Dominic Angelella, which were also intertwined with his anthemic pop hooks. The big surprise of the evening was Brendan Mulvihill’s hidden talent on the electric guitar. We already knew that he could tear it up on the mandolin, but his guitar and keyboard work fit quite naturally for his first outing with the band. Baltimore’s Secret Mountains rolled into town requesting the lights be dim to set the mood for their dark, psychedelic rock with plenty of grooves reminiscent of Portishead. Lead vocalist Kelly Laughlin’s powerful wails teetered back and forth between art-rock and radio-friendly pop vocals. Hop Along closed out the evening with a rollicking set that got the entranced audience moving. Frances Quinlan’s rambunctious yet achy vocals and unique, storytelling lyrics were the standouts of the performance that had the crowd cheering for more. You can check out our pics from the evening HERE.
