Accidental Gentleman kindly rocks La Salle

By Taylor-Lynn Capaldo
Collegian Staff
September 27, 2006

You may have heard it yourself last Friday night: pounding drums, screeching electric guitars and thumping bass emanating from the second floor of the Union. If you were lucky enough to be there, you were able to experience the sweet sounds of Piebald that were brought to you by BackPAC, a student-run organization on campus that brings indie-rock and underground bands to La Salle, along with Late Night La Salle.

Piebald unveiled some new songs from Accidental Gentlemen at La Salle - Taylor-Lynn Capaldo

Piebald, a four-piece indie-rock/alternative band from Boston, Mass., brought a rock revolution to the Ballroom.

Along with the headlining act were local talents Little Light, Algernon Cadwallader and Except After Sea. Little Light, a four-piece band from Philly/South Jersey, played a short set to start off the night. Algernon Cadwallader followed and brought a bit of a different sound, with a tambourine added to the usual indie-post-rock feel that we’ve been seeing so much of recently. The most well-received of the three openers were Except After Sea.

Maybe it was because they were playing to a crowd that consisted mostly of their friends, but I definitely noticed a lot of foot tapping and head bobbing to the piano-based melodies. It was clearly evident that all three bands were stoked to be playing with Piebald, and made sure that the audience was just as excited, too.

After a longer than normal break between sets and some technical difficulties, Piebald started their set off with the song “Get Old or Die Trying,” from their most recent album All Eyes, All Ears, All the Time, released in 2004. Following that, they didn’t hesitate to kick it up a notch, moving right into “American Hearts,” one of their most popular songs.

Lead singer Travis Shettel, soon after apologized for the “slow start,” and continued on rocking with “If Marcus Garvey Dies, Then Marcus Garvey Lives” from their 1999 release If It Weren’t For Venetian Blinds, It’d Be Curtains for Us All,.

The bulk of the set consisted of a mix of selections from all of their albums: a handful of older, classic Piebald, a decent amount from their latest release and a few new songs from Accidental Gentleman, which they plan to release in January. The highlight of the show for me was the song “Grace Kelly With Wings” from Venetian Blinds. The crowd seemed to agree, as much dancing and singing along ensued.

The ’Bald played a rather short set, and no encore, which was a disappointment, but they did not fail to keep the energy high, working the crowd with hand claps and dance moves, taking requests and conversing with audience members.

Jess Phelan, a senior BackPAC member who organized the show, was pleased with the results. “The show was definitely a success,” she said. “Our main goal this year is to get La Salle students to come out to BackPAC events, and we did that with this show.”

“Piebald was great. They are really awesome, down-to-earth guys. Not to mention they played well, too. They played a lot of older stuff, which was great because everyone got to sing along and have a good time,” Phelan said.

The band definitely did play well, and are indeed very laidback guys. Before and after their set, the members took turns manning the merch table, chatting with fans, signing autographs and hanging out. When I got a minute to chat with frontman Travis Shettel, he explained that the band doesn’t often play in Philadelphia. They usually only come to Philly while on tour, and they very rarely play small shows like the one at La Salle. Needless to say, it looks like La Salle got quite a treat on Friday night.

Piebald is kicking off a tour next month in New York City, with Say Anything and MeWithoutYou, in order to promote their new album. They’re making a stop at the Electric Factory on Oct. 12, so if you missed them at La Salle, be sure to check them out when they come back around.

capaldot1@lasalle.edu