Concert Review - The Lawsuits at Milkboy Philadelphia, Saturday April 7th, 2012

Saturday night at the MilkBoy Philadelphia, New Hope, PA's The Lawsuits, pulled out all the stops for their, Hot Love, EP release party! Friends and cohorts Mountjoy, The Levee Drivers, and Penrose each took a stab at shaking up the near sell-out crowd, raising the excitement up yet another notch band by band. By the time The Lawsuits hit the stage near midnight, everyone was ready to rock.


Each "opener" did a great job, and could have easily held their own in a headline spot. With my limited exposure to the bands, one thing that stood out was every band out played their recordings. Victor G's vocals were reminiscent of Jim Morrison, joining Cameron Sima, Bob Szafranski, and Ryan Farber for alt rockers Mountjoy. The brothers Murphy of Penrose, even outplayed a description I found about the band "Philadelphia blues-garage rock", with a solid full-on set leaving the garage far behind!

The Morrisville, PA based Levee Drivers led by August Lutz deserve the biggest mention of the "openers" as their shout-out-loud rock/Americana sound was a ton of fun. Many feel the band is reminiscent to early Johnny Cash, but I'm sure Joaquin Phoenix never had as much fun pretending to be J.C., as The Levee Drivers have just being themselves.

Levee Drivers

original Levee Drivers set list

the official lineup for the evening was:

August John Lutz II - Vox,Guitar and Harp

Kyle Perella - Bass Guitar

Jeff Orlowski - Drums

Amber Twait - Vox and Tamborine

Adam Bittel - Lead Guitar andMandolin

MilkBoy, Philadelphia, PA April 7th, 2012

SET LIST - The Levee Drivers

Bourbon Coated

Them Heartaches

Old 45's

Wichita

Bound By That Ride

Jolene

There You Go

I look forward to seeing the Levee Drivers again, as they seem to have hit their stride with this line-up. Amber Twait was great on 'Jolene.' 'Bound By That Ride' was outstanding with Adam Bittel on mandolin and August Lutz on harmonica.

Levee Drivers 'Wichita'

the Lawsuits.. photos by Dan McGurk

Vanessa Winters

The HOT LOVE release party was a re-launch of sorts for the Lawsuits. Now a quintet, the band was ready to show off their songs; old favorites, new favorites and soon to be favorites. Symbolically, they started of with a higher pulse rate version of ordinarily chill 'Someone Else Blues.' The heavy drums by Josh Aaron Friedman and bass by Brendan Cunningham picked up where the other bands left off. Even longtime fan favorite, 'Summer Lea', was relegated to warm up duty as the night was all about the new music!

The Hot Love EP was done complete and in order by Brian Dale Allen Strouse and company. Lead track, 'Long To Mend' was as infectious as Vanessa's smile. The guitar parts were completely rock n roll, while the banjo part by newest member Noah Skaroff was a great compliment.

Vanessa Winters took over on 'Mississippi River' with the lead vocals, completely nailing it. Just as impressive were Brian's guitar playing and Brendan's groovin' bass line.

The band "dialed it to 11" on the super fun 'Baby Don't Go' after the band gave props to their video producer, Derek Korogodsky.



The Lawsuits "Baby, Don't Go" Official Music Video

Josh Aaron Friedman

They wrapped up their EP set with 'Hot Girl Makes Porno' which may be their most complete track on the EP, as it has a great beat by Josh, stellar lines for Brendan on bass and Noah on Banjo, and great vocal parts for Vanessa and Brian. Between it and 'Baby, Don't Go' they clearly give notice to Philly and the world that they are rock n roll and ready to make they mark!

Brian Dale Allen Strouse

The Lawsuits weren't done showing off their new sounds. They continued a trend, showing of some old favorites in new ways. 'I'm Still In Love With You' was re-worked with a drum driven, alt-country feel. Immediately after was a quick verse of long-time love song 'Always On My Mind' leading straight into 'Hot Momma Blues' including a cool 'Ballroom Blitz' interpolation.

Noah Skaroff & Brendan Cunningham

Three yet to be released songs were also in the mix. 'Workings of You' was as close as the band came to "chill" all night. 'French Roast Blues,' non-album but already a crowd favorite, became a sing along. It's ironic as it sounds like a break-up song yet it brought the crowd together! 'Long Drive Home', another new song waiting in the wings, was very well received and stands to be a future single and even encore request as the crowd loved the song and Vanessa's vocals.

Vanessa wasn't done driving the crowd crazy. On 'Shooting Star' every female in the crowd was singing along when she held the reins.

Finally, the rocking end to the night was a punk-ish 'Tainted Love' with a slick Brian Strouse guitar riff. Unlike other moody covers of this classic, the Lawsuit version was all fun!

The Lawsuits

**SET LIST **
The Lawsuits

MilkBoy, Philadelphia, PA April 7th, 2012

Title - Original Album (or original artist)
1. 'Someone Else Blues' Darleen
2. 'Talk You Down' Darleen
3. 'Summer Lea' Darleen
4. 'Long Drive Home ** New **
5. 'Long To Mend' Hot Love EP
6. 'Mississippi River' Hot Love EP
7. 'Baby Don't Go' Hot Love EP
8. 'Hot Girl Makes Porno' Hot Love EP
9. 'I'm Still In Love With You' Darleen
10. 'Hot Mamma Blues' Darleen
11. Workings of You' ** New **
12. 'When I'm Gone' Darleen
13. 'Shooting Star' Darleen
14. 'French Roast' ** New **
15. 'Tainted Love' Soft Cell
(sung originally by Gloria Jones, written by Ed Cobb of The FourPreps)

If you want to check out more from the Lawsuits, try the songs/videos below! If you want to support the band try their store (http://thelawsuits.bigcartel.com/) or share this post and/or any of their videos and concert dates!!!


**'Shooting Star' from DARLEEN**

The Lawsuits - "Hot Girl Makes Porno" (HotBox Sessions)

The Lawsuits - French Roast (HotBox Sessions)



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