The Mammals - Aug 26, Durham, NH

Yes, I've been on the road and busy for a month. (BAD MOGGER! BAD!) However, I aim to atone for my sins (Right time of year for it too, no?) with some badass postings and a renewed commitment to the greatness that is this space.

First post: in my whirlwind trip around the Northeast, I happened to fall ass-backwards into my friend Ri taking me to a show with a band I'd never heard of: The Mammals. Needless to say, I'm lucky he did. The Mammals played Saturday, Aug. 26, at 7 p.m. as part of the Music in the Meadow concert series put on by the Mill Pond Center for the Arts and the Stone Church Music Club.

One of the things that made the show so great was the venue. Have you ever seen the stages they set up in Nashville or Branson, Missouri where there's fake trees on the stage, and windows set up behind the band and whatnot? Well this was that, except for real and really outside. The stage was set up against a, I-shit-you-not, side of a barn, and I guess in the barn was the "backstage" area. There was a gorgeous old tree growing in front of the left side of the stage and perfectly framing the performance area. Add that to the crystal clear night sky above, the almost pornographically clean air, and the great crowd who had gathered and the concert turned into one of those experiences I'll remember for the rest of my life.

The music varied from high energy and twangy to very subtle kind of... I don't want to say "slow core" but a basic indie rock groove. There was certainly some Spanish influence to some of the songs (one of the band members grew up in South America) and it was good to hear it in the background of some of the more twangy pieces as well as some straight up Cuban folk pieces. It was an ecclectic show, to be sure, but they never didn't sound like "The Mammals" if that makes sense. There was something that definitely tied all the music together, even though it was all so different. As a band, I don't know I've seen a group of people play together so tight. From a musicians perspective, they're worth seeing just for their dynamic. They hold amazing stage presence and aren't afraid to interact with the crowd and have people come up and dance or whatever.

Bottom line: if you get a chance, see this band. I don't own any of their albums (though I probably will, and I'm sure they're great) but they can't possibly capture the raw energy of the live show.

This is really my first concert "review", but I'd like to think of it more as just gushing over a great band my friend showed me. And now I've shown you; check them out!