photo by Rich Gastwirt ((www.stageshooter.com))
Friday night at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, Ryan Montbleau got his band back together for an incredibly memorable night of music. Montbleau was joined by the group’s original core members (James & Jason Cohen, Laurence Scudder and Matt Giannaros) as well as Lyle Brewer on guitar and Yahuba on percussion.
These 7 guys spent countless hours together over the years…touring the country in a Sprinter van and recording Montbleau’s songs while an ever-growing fan base followed their every move. It was clear that a flood of memories were hitting Montbleau up on that stage, but he decided to skip the story telling and let the music speak for itself.
For one nearly 3-hour long set, RMB favorites came one after another, much to the sold out crowd’s delight. Stand out moments included “Stretch”, “Draw the Line”, “Honeymoon Eyes”, “Grain Of Sand”, “You Crazy You” > “I Can’t Wait” and an epic “Here Et. All” encore. Songs from the new album Growing Light were sprinkled in along with a few covers…the Talking Heads’ “Naive Melody” was clearly a crowd favorite.
The room was filled with a palpable energy as fans danced alongside many familiar faces, celebrating this tight unit of a band. As the crowd roared and the guys got together for one final bow, it sank in that this is truly the closing of a chapter in Montbleau’s career…and for the RMB family too.
It was a bittersweet evening, and a fitting farewell for a great group of musicians and fans.
