It was a pretty small turnout for Far at the Underground. What's a band got to do? They've been around for a while (though on hiatus), make good music, get airplay on KRZQ, and are sort of, kind of regional.
But 50 people in the crowd is probably a generous estimate. The place certainly felt empty. But no matter -- they rocked.
Playing tracks from their new album, "At Night We Live," along with many tunes from their first four albums, including the almost-hit "Mother Mary," the band never let up.
The players were always energetic and singer Jonah Matranga, as it turns out, basically puts on a one-man drama with constant flourishes, gestures, anguished expressions and hopeful looks.
With some bands, seeing them live is just like watching four guys practice really well in a basement — they're playing great music but in an incredibly uninteresting way. But Jonah and crew put on a show.
Openers Dead Country were a great surprise and understandable wondered why people were afraid to come closer to the stage.
Their rock was catchy with great use of backing vocals by bassist and lead guitarist. Check out their EP if you like what you hear on MySpace. It's good stuff.