Nadeem Salaam
Andrew Accardi of Robbers, Shone, and now Cosmic Harvey played to a packed crowd at the Studio At Webster Hall last night, opening for former Envy On The Coast’s Ryan Hunter and his new band 1st Vows. It’s the first time i’ve seen my old friend after 5 years and I was floored to see how much he has grown since tagging along with his big bro’s band in Brand New, maybe almost 8-10 years ago. First in order, a major congrats goes out to Andrew and what he’s done for the exploration of music, you’re at the top of your game. On a rainy Monday, Celestial Mind (his backing band) and Cosmic Harvey followed the comedian Katie Henegan, playing lush-playful jazz modalities over soulful indie rock, that’s hard to describe because I know him so well, i’ve seen his growth in all the projects he’s fronted over the years; there is a small glimmer of each of them in the creative fire he is burning up. Highlights for me included ending the night with moments of band member spotlights, from the accomplished drumming of Jazz veteran John Favicchia, Brandon Dove’s quick bass fingers, to the multi-instrumentalist Michael Gigliardi swaping between keys and the saxophone, each with a solo to best one another and pushing us upwards, they were certainly of an older musical generation for the younger crowd there to see a once staple of the Long Island indie scene Envy On The Coast’s new project, (Long Island bands are often supported by young fans because of the access to many all ages events) but none the less young minds are impressionable, and a band that croons like a Stevie Wonder tribute band with Micheal Jackson worthy grooves and all the quirky artful things that made Robbers amazing, are hard to resist.