THE STRUMBELLAS AT BROOKLYN STEEL IN NEW YORK CITY, NY

The Strumbellas took over Brooklyn Steel last week on the second stop of their Rattlesnake Tour.  This six-piece Canadian band rocked the house opening with fan favorites “We Don’t Know”, “Young & Wild”, and “In This House”. Blue and white lights danced around the room as Isabel Ritchie’s violin solo captivated the audience showcasing such talent and passion.

“We’ve never played this venue before,” Isabel told the crowd. “We went from playing at Rockwood with 30 people to playing here.” Cheers erupted. You could feel the excitement and happiness from both the band on stage and from those around me. “One Hand Up” began and everyone’s arms shot up, grooving to the tambourines chiming away. The pace slowed down a bit as “Wars” rang out. Couples swayed back and forth, twirling each other as Simon sang  “what can I say, I was born to be this way!” The dancing continued during “Sway”. I witnessed the most pure moment when a woman was spun around, dipped, then kissed all so gracefully. We heard a few more new songs off the new album including “I’ll Wait” which has another fabulous violin solo.

And who could forget the corniest but charming joke Simon made! As the new album is titled Rattlesnake, Simon swore they were trained and brought a real rattlesnake on tour. “Surprisingly the Texan laws to get a real one are quite easy… so I brought one,” he chuckled. A cage was brought out and guess what! “Gotcha!” Simon threw a plastic snake into the crowd! This light hearted humor paired well with the vibes of the night.

The night wouldn’t be complete without Dave’s disclosure of his love for NY pizza. And us, of course. Soon, “Spirits” played right before the encore while yellow and white lights illuminated the whole room.