IATU likes to think of itself as an adventurous entity. IATU’s sentience, of course, relies upon the well-being and enthusiasm of a dedicated team of writers and promoters. As one such writer, I decided to embody this via a jaunt into the unknown – this journey took me to the favored but rarely visited Ace of Cups for a show put on by Nightlands, the project of Dave Hartley of Philadelphia.

Columbus’ Tin Armor were the sole hint of familiarity for the evening. Think of them as a cushion of sorts that ensures at least some redeeming value to the evening in case the worst happens (it didn’t). The band, with their trio of Matts and their friend John played an engaging set of alternative laced rock and roll, trading lead vocals and staying on point throughout. They didn’t let the sparse crowd negatively affect their stage presence. Matt (I don’t know which one, sorry) told me afterward their show schedule this summer would be sparse in preparation for their next release, so keep an eye out for that.

Bummers played a rollicking set of tunes that drew out what would be by far the largest crowd of the evening. In retrospect, I am baffled as to why I hadn’t heard of these guys outside of the context of the show before. The crowd was big, there was a group of about half a dozen ladies having their own dance party in the front row, and the songs were darn catchy without sounding cliche or familiar. The energy was contagious, and apparently people are continuing to respond to this band by requesting their songs on local alternative station CD102.5 FM.

Nightlands played a set of sleepy psychedelic ambient rock songs as a four piece. This isn’t nearly adequate to accurately portray the album live, but to be completely accurate Hartley would need a whole menagerie of stage hands and backup singers – he has actually used a choir on past tour dates. The four piece band, which included Hartley on guitar, two people on keyboards/synths, and a drummer performed beautifully and dreamily despite their limitations. With some strategic working of his pedal board, Hartley was able to craft some pretty interesting moods with just his guitar. The live show definitely had a different vibe than the album, but I still enjoyed it. Between this and his other band The War on Drugs, Hartley stays busy so jump on any live opportunity you find.

Link to full album here