Brad: 23 May 2012 – New York

Seattle’s Brad, the band comprised of Shawn Smith, Stone Gossard (of Pearl Jam), Regan Hagar, Keith Lowe and Happy Chichester, took one of their short, rare tours to support their new album United We Stand, hitting New York’s Gramercy Theater for one night. I had last seen the band in 2010 in Philadelphia where, having gone in unfamiliar with much of their music, I found myself impressed with the band’s musicianship. But that shouldn’t be a surprise considering the band has been around for twenty years, though other projects often keep them separate and unable to work or tour together. The band opened with “Water’s Deep” from the new album and performed for about an hour and a half. They got through a few of my favorites including “Screen”, “Buttercup” (off of the album Shame and “Secret Girl” plus a Neil Young cover. Smith took a short solo where he performed the Mother Love Bone song “Crown of Thorns” before following it up with Prince’s “Purple Rain” that the crowd took kindly to.

Visit the band’s website to receive a free song “A Reason to be in my Skin” in exchange for your email address.