The other night I attended the first annual Rachael’s 23^rd birthday bash at The Delancey. The entire event was hosted by the venerable Pop Tarts Suck Toasted. I wouldn’t be amiss to say that the entire night was a huge success. I saw seven great bands and had a few drinks and very candid conversations with a bunch of friends.

The night got kicked off early by a not-so-acoustic set by members of A Brief Smile. DL (Vocals/Electric Guitar) & Jared (Keyboards) played a very high spirited set, and even threw in a GVB cover. It wasn’t quite the ‘Acoustic’ set I had expected, but I was very pleased to hear their songs with out a rhythm section beefing up the sound.

Next on the docket was Sweden’s own Pelle Carlberg, and he was by far the surprise performance of the night. Pelle and his one man rhythm section/friend Henrik(sp) did well to keep me captivated their entire set…minus the 93 seconds it took me to run up stairs and find Rachael and exclaim that they were covering Mika’s Grace Kelly.

**Disclaimer: It was around this time that a migraine started a ruckus in the right side of my brain, and I tried my best to hang out, but kept to sitting down more often then not, and avoiding speakers next to my head. Regardless, the show was just starting, and the next act was going to be a first for all those who attended.

The Antlers made their full band debut, and I was excited about this even more then the “Surprise Guests”. The Antlers’ front man Peter Silberman blew me away with his songs and pure energy when I saw him perform solo at one of The Battering Room’s showcases. Now he went a head and magnified that energy 5x…With this line up and their latest release…I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for these kids.

The sarcastic wit and charm of Wakey! Wakey!’s Mike Grubbs took center stage next, and with his ever expanding/shrinking cast of musicians. Solid as always, but I felt the set was rushed and fell short of what I expected.

Seth Kallen and the Reaction setup and then gave the reins over to surprise guests Tally Hall, who performed a couple covers for Rachael, then it was back to Seth. His blues infused indie rock picked up where Wakey! Wakey! Left off and set the stage for the nights headliners...Jukebox the Ghost.

Jukebox thrashed through an amazing set, and then surprised Rachael with a very special birthday song, which included members of the other performers from that night and Wes, from the Undisputed Heavyweights...

After what could be called the end to a perfect night, Jukebox the Ghost continue playing to the cheers of the crowd, and Rachael couldn’t be happier.