Rock, sweat, repeat…collapse.

That seemed to be the formula of the night as the guys of Pela concluded their Two-Tuesdays-Tour in front of a packed crowd at Mercury Lounge last night. See, sometimes wishes do come true. So maybe I didn’t get an endless supply of Pela concerts, but two Tuesdays in a row?? I think that’s pretty good.

As I have come to expect, the band was energetic and rearing to go from the start. But this time they also seemed to be really happy to be out of the studio and back onstage. It was as if they took a look around last night and realized “Yeah, this is what it’s all about.” Lead singer Billy McCarthy proudly showed off his new guitar, and he even thanked the crowd for coming out, acknowledging that many probably had 9-5 jobs (clearly someone has been reading my posts). They played a bunch of new songs from their upcoming album along with the crowd-pleasers off of Anytime Graffiti.

The show was sold out but I ended up in the front row, so according to me there were a total of eight people in the crowd. It was definitely a different experience to be so close to the happenings onstage.

Here are some Things You See in the Front Row:

1) The drummer (Tomislav Zovich). Yes, though more often heard than seen, I always know the drummer is there, but last night I got to see one at work.

2) The set list. I enjoyed the sneak peek and knowing there was a four-song encore in my future.

3) The photographers. I know, I was one of them. But there were three people with cameras much fancier then mine snapping away right in front of the stage. Seriously, I think every moment of the show was captured digitally. I imagine the band could have a really good flip book of the whole performance.

4) The sweat. And there was a lot of it. Near the end McCarthy even commented on Zovich’s completely soaked through shirt.

Here’s the night in pictures:

Click below for more pictures…

Pela invited River City Extension onstage for “Cavalry”

And at the end of the night, they all collapse…