Streetlight Manifesto hit Royal Oak with Jenny Owen Youngs in celebration of the 10th anniversary of their hit ska punk album Somewhere in the Between.

Jenny Owen Youngs opens the night. This solo songstress held her own and took control of the stage with only a guitar to accompany her. This singer-songwriter from New Jersey has released three albums and a handful of EPs since getting on the scene in 2005. She has toured worldwide, headlining and also supporting artists such as Against Me!, Regina Spektor, Motion City Soundtrack, Frank Turner, and more.

The crowd is immediately taken in by her incredibly emotive gorgeous voice. In between sets, she lets her bubbly personality shine with sarcastic jokes and enthusiastic explanations about songs. She lets out her inner fangirl with her tributes to both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The X-Files, which she warned contained lots of spoilers. Her music blends soft sweet melodies with a whimsical charm, you can hear her heart and soul pouring out as she sings. The crowd loved her from start to finish, the highlight being when everyone enthusiastically joins Youngs in an interactive rendition of “Not Fade Away” by Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
Jenny Owen Youngs latest single Long Black Veil, as well as her EP Slack Tide, are available on iTunes.

As the crowd swells and screams, Streetlight Manifesto files in one by one with an intro of “Ants Go Marching In”, slowly building up the anticipation until they charge into “Watch It Crash”. Streetlight is touring in celebration of the 10th anniversary of their hit album Somewhere in the Between, treating the crowd to the album in its entirety. This band is like nothing you’ve seen before. They are a seven-piece band that consists of Chris Thatcher on drums, Tomas Kalnoky guitar/vocals, and Pete McCullough on bass. The remaining members make up the brass section, which gives the band a completely unique sound. They have Jim Conti on alto and tenor saxophone, Mike Brown on baritone and alto saxophone, Matt Stewart on trumpet, and Karl Lyden on trombone.

This show is one of the first times I stood in the pit, camera in hand, and had no idea where to start. Streetlight Manifesto is one of the most energetic, zealous, and fun shows I’ve ever been to. You get whiplash just looking at everything going on. The bass was grooving, the drums were commanding, the guitar and vocals were raw and punchy. All the while, the horn section was dizzying and powerful.
You can see and hear the technical talent these guys have, it’s obvious each member is a master of their instrument. They have the energy to run and dance around the stage, and then immediately blast out a complex melody and solo. Their music has a perfectly thrashy punk feel with an anthemic big band sound packed in. The crowd and Streetlight fed off each other’s energy. From the balcony, one could see the crowd below swirling in multiple mosh pits. Everyone was flailing and dancing around in one big sweaty congregation as Streetlight moved with them.

Their show is perfectly executed and chaotic all at once. The band powered through every song from Somewhere in the Between, including punk thrashers like “Watch It Crash”, “The Receiving End of it All”, “Down Down Down To Mephisto’s Café” and more. The crowd almost drowned out the band during their hit “We Will Fall Together”. Streetlight doesn’t forget to showcase other fan favorites from their career such as “A Moment of Silence”, followed by “A Moment of Violence”, and “With Any Sort of Certainty”.

After a blistering set culminating in “Here’s to Life” with “Call to Arms” intro, the band returned to the stage after a very short encore break. Their encore consists of “The Three of Us” and the title track off the album of the night “Somewhere in the Between”.
Tonight, there were video cameras all around the venue filing Streetlight Manifesto’s set. And I have to say, they couldn’t have picked a better show to immortalize. The band was in their element, the amount of energy they bring to their shows is astonishing. Streetlight Manifesto keeps their music lively, and it was a testament to see that their fans packing the venue and going hard from start to finish. Keep an eye out for what comes next.

Somewhere in the Between, as well as their other albums, are available on their merch site.

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Streetlight Manifesto
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Jenny Owen Youngs
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Royal Oak Music Theatre
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Event Date: 15-SEP-2017

About The Author

Calling Detroit, Michigan home, Sami has been photographing for many years and has been with National Rock Review since near the beginning. She is a photographer and writer for National Rock Review as well as being the US Marketing Manager, PR Correspondent, and Editor. She also owns her own photography business, Sami Lipp Photography. Capturing the excitement of live music and the passion of musicians is something she lives for. She is excited to grow her career in music photography every day.