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The Mowgli’s rolled into New York City on Friday just ahead of a storm, and they brought their A-Game with a tornado of joy, for let it be known, Katie and Josh got engaged the night before!!!
I’ve covered The Mowgli’s a bit over the past couple years and each time I do, the thing that remains constant is, they truly just keep getting better and better. Their evolution as a band is inspiring and the trail of incredibly hard work led to a sold out show at Bowery Ballroom with the entire crowd keeping with the Mowgli tradition and singing along to every tune. Exciting, sure but, what was in fact truly impressive was the fact that the fans knew all the words to every track they played off their new album “Where’d Your Weekend Go?” which was only released on September 30th.
With the stage adorned with big red balloons, the six members came out on the stage in uniform white t-shirts and blue jeans. The new aesthetic was simple yet cohesive. It also, in a very subtle way, made the show feel more like an event and in the tradition of great events, the show itself was a slow build with a great pay off at the end. Even though they came out swinging, by the third song you could feel the band had “warmed up”. Letting loose, Colin fed off the crowd, getting up close and personal with the fans (check out the photo gallery for more on that). The setlist consisted of new tracks mixed in with some old favorites and it was the perfect mix to satisfy anyone who came out. “Spacin Out”, “Monster” and “Spiderweb” seem destined to be the new sing along favorites.
One of the HUGE highlights of the show came when Colin announced that Josh and Katie got engaged the night before. (For the record, Congratulations Josh and Katie!!!!!) “My two best friends just got engaged!” and almost overwhelmed with emotion he embraced both of them. Another highlight came when Dave came out from behind the keyboards to play guitar on “Love Me Anyway”. I’ve written in other reviews that The Mowgli’s are a true family and the ways that they have been emotionally testing each other are the ways that only the love of a true family can put you through. That night Dave was the victim of this love, as Colin got the entire Ballroom chanting “Bagel Dave” as a nick name of endearment. I got the sense that the song’s sentiment “Love Me Anyway” was in full effect. (Please do not bring bagel’s to Dave.)
For the encore, the fantastic and swoon worthy openers Dreamers, burst out on the stage with balloons to sing along to “San Francisco”. Frontman Nick Wold went the extra mile and held up Colin in and above the crowd around the ballroom. It was a perfect end to a great show and when east coast and west coast come together, the world is just a better place.
It is really hard to not feel uplifted after a Mowgli’s show. They have an infectious optimism in their music, their message of love comes from an honest place, the tunes are ridiculously catchy and they always just seem to be having fun playing their music. They start playing a track and hearts get lighter and everyone in ear shot seem to just be nicer to one another. It’s feeling that people keep with them and it’s one of the reasons when it is over it doesn’t really feel over, you’re just waiting for the next show. You may not know or understand why you want to hear it again, you just do.
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