Syndicate19

June was a very busy month for Syndicate19. It started at Inn on the Blues a colorful bar with a great atmosphere on York Beach. Joe, the owner, is a wonderful host with attention to detal and a friendly staff.

It’s a place where people go to actually listen to good music. Syndicate19 plays a diverse selection of covers, so there was something to please the wide age gamut that fills this place.

Syndicate19 and Dave Matthews fan Jeff Perrota helped Paul sing “Too Much” during the third set.

A few days later, tragedy struck. Mike, the second guitarist, broke his hand, so the guys had to play without him at the Green Room on the 13th of June.

They had to drop a few covers that Paul didn’t know the guitar part to, but for the most part they made it through the night without many hiccups.

By the second set, which included a full block of originals, people were filling the dance floor. At the end of the night the crowd was literally begging for more.

On a drizzly Thursday night the following week, the guys played a small, sophisticated place called the Flask Lounge for the first time. As usual for new venues, people were intrigued by Leigh’s massive electric drum kit.

Paul once again did his best to compensate for the missing guitar parts. “Beautiful Dead,” a Syndicate19 original, really captivated the small crowd.

The third set began with Jessica, the owner of Flask, sitting in on drums for Weezer’s  “Say It Ain’t So.”

The next day, the band and a crew of 12 people headed to New York for a festival called Nikstock. We arrived well after dark. We quickly set up camp and joined a huge crowd of people around a bonfire.

We woke to the sound of rain and the first band setting up for sound check. Syndicate19 performed on a muddy, wet stage around noon. Most people seemed to be listening from their tents, trying to stay as dry as possible. The rain never let up, but everyone stuck out till Sunday, before making our mud-covered journey home.

On the 26th, Syndicate19 was back at Post Road Tavern. It was a great night complete with a birthday surprise for Jacob (aka Arkansas, who occasionally runs lights for the band) and a turntablist DJ Hinote kicking off the third set.

They ended the month at Brian Boru’s, for a packed show. This awesome, wall-to-wall crowd was full of bachelorette and wedding parties, that were ready to celebrate!

-Bridgett Owen Chase

“Don’t cry because it’s over.  Smile because it happened.”  ~Theodor Seuss Geisel