Red Orange Morning & Action Set
Union Hall, 5 August 2007


5 hours stuck in a motor vehicle is not how I wanted to spend my Sunday morning, band practice called...and there I went. The calls I got from friends told me the the line for the I'm from Barcelona and Blonde Redhead was already wrapping around the block by the time I arrived back into the city. So I decided to relax for a few hours before I head down to Union Hall to support some of my hometown bands.

Red Orange Morning kicked the show off with an acoustic set. Guitarist Ryan and keyboardist Cyndi's crisp set seemed to manipulate time itself with the songs tempo changes. Starting out slow and then picking up speed and finally tapering off at the end to leave us listeners in a slight daze.

Before the endorphins wore off from the music and the free EP, NJ/Brooklyn band Action Set took the stage and for the second time this week I got to witness their quaint mix of pop, blues and a little bit of country fused songs. Its hard to decide on which singer is my favorite. Patrick Hipp, the rock and roll voice barking out verses over top a lead-rhythm guitar, or Sam Smith, a softer more singer songwriter fingering his way through sickly sweet chord progression on an acoustic and or electric. Both of them work well apart, but somehow they manage to combine all their styles and make a seemingly new one that fits Action Set's persona.