Boston Band Crush Archived Article: Show Crush Recap: Gordon Gano and The Ryans, Sidewalk Driver, Mascara 11/12/09

This article originally appeared on Boston Band Crush ). Gordon Gano and The Ryans stopped by The Middle East Downstairs last Thursday in support of their new album, Under the Sun. I had the privilege of doing a phone interview with Gordon (of Violent Femmes fame) in advance of the show, which you can read here.  They mostly played the songs off the new record, putting in a heartfelt performance to an appreciative crowd. This record has been growing on me the more I listen to it, and I  really felt that these songs sunk in for me in the live setting.  They played a couple of Violent Femmes classics including “American Music,” “Good Feeling,” and finished the night off with a blue-grassy version of “Blister in the Sun.”

We captured a  lot of the set on video:

Sidewalk Driver were as delicious as always:

Mascara opened up the night and were raucous. Unfortunately, the CIA confiscated our video and are holding it as evidence of rocking.