It is a bitter cold post new years evening on the East River in North Williamsburg at the still fresh venue/bowling alley, Brooklyn Bowl. The show tonight boasts New Jersey indie veterans Steel Train and throwback rockers the London Souls sharing a bill for a mere $5 bucks! After thawing from a fridgid wait in the ID line, there are some serious tunes coming from within the walls of the cavernous space.

The London Souls are into the groove of their set and are powering through their opening slot on the bill. They certainly channel a different era of a simple heavy rock trio with no shortage of crazy riffage, pounding drum fills, and floor vibrating bass. Their fast pace and large quoifs win me over quickly. Their sound has no problem overpowering clattering pins, a boisterous crowd, or the large reverberant space of Brooklyn Bowl that quieter acts have to combat. The tipping of a hat to previous times and sounds of rock fits right in with Steel Train’s sonic aesthetic; see their 1969 covers EP.

After a brief changing of the guard, amps, and equipment Steel Train take the stage fresh off a string of hometown dates at the amazing and now historic Maxwells venue in Hoboken, NJ. This is also one of their last gigs of the area before embarking on a monster nationwide tour opening for Tegan and Sara. The set tonight consists of covers, some tracks of their upcoming album, and some surprise covers – all of which a real treat for those in attendance.

Steel Train’s set up of two guitarists, keys, bass, and drums are just the beginning, over the course of the set there is extra percussion jams, instrument swapping, full group sing-a-longs, and audience participation to boot. These guys are serious musicians who know how to make it look fun without sacrificing a refined style of a band who has been touring for years. The bass is really high in the mix and everything seems to gel around the solid drumming of the group. Some of the cover highlights that got the crowd going were, Bruce Springteen’s anthem “Dancing in the Dark”, a serious rendition of the Band’s “The Weight” as an encore, and being joined on stage by Nate Ruess of fun. and the Format fame for help with Queen’s (and Bowie) “Under Pressure”.

This was a great show and I highly recommend checking out Steel Train if they stop by on one of the Tegan and Sara dates- I also look forward for another chance to catch the London Souls.

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New York