VRSTY LIVE AT THE WEBSTER UNDERGROUND
The NYC quartet known as VRSTY (pronounced Var-Si-Ty) added the Webster Underground to their grueling list of tour dates. A small but loyal group of fans were met with the news that the show got pushed back an hour and were stuck outside during storm Nicole. I saw the singer, Joey Varela, at the merch booth & shouted out puns on their song titles. “We’re stuck out here in a “Massive” storm!” “We’re going “Colorblind” out here!” He replied with “I see what ya did there.” Shortly thereafter they let us in.
The fans were excited, the majority of them from Massachusetts, had never seen the band live yet and were introduced to them on Spotify. I would describe their sound as hard rock, pop inspired vocals alongside metal growls and riffs, an interesting juxtaposition. The band members are: Joey Varela (Vocals), Javy Dorrejo (Bass), Chris Cody (Drums) and Paul Gregory (Guitar). Their album Welcome Home was released in 2021. In 2022 they dropped Welcome Home Part 2, containing Spanish language versions of “Dig”, “Closer” and “Sick”.
When the band took the stage, vocalist Joey Varela announced “I’m drunk!” Since I had never seen them live before, I couldn’t tell. Even after the first song or two when Joey declared he was “falling over words & all type of shit”, I still thought he was pulling it off pretty well. I will admit I’m not entirely familiar with their extensive inventory of songs. As they belted out one of their Spanish language songs, the crowd really started getting into it. I don’t speak Spanish but Joey’s vocals shine in that format. I was impressed with the musician’s sound.
However, when Joey hit his softer, smoother R&B type vocals, I really couldn’t hear him. I don’t know if it was the room, the equipment or my location (right up front, where my live music loving ass belongs) but the vocals didn’t always translate. The latter part of their set included my favorite “Massive”, the true fans knew all the lyrics. A pit broke out during their last song. VRSTY wrapped it up announcing “Thank you! Buy our merch or buy us shots!”
The show was a fun night out. I love seeing the fans support local live music. I spoke with Joey post show, asked him to verify how to pronounce the band’s name. Var-Si-Ty. I inquired if they had a problem with full time vowels as they only use the “sometimes Y” in the spelling of the band.
He replied that there was another band out there using the spelling Varsity, and VRSTY didn’t want to impede on them (props for that, great vibe) so they changed their name to VRSTY. I told him I was thinking it could be pronounced VRSTY (rhyming with thirsty) and that they were “thirsty for verses”. He said he liked it & might steal it. Have at it Joey!
Check out Welcome Home and Welcome Home Part 2.
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To learn more about VRSTY, check out their website
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Stream music: Spotify / Apple Music
Purchase: Amazon
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