ANDY FRASCO & THE U.N. – LIVE AT THE PARADISE ROCK CLUB
By James Marinaccio
Going into this show, I was by no means the biggest Andy Frasco & the U.N. fan. This was made evident by the line of fervent fans waiting outside of Paradise Rock Club. The line was full of Andy Frasco merch, which is usually a good sign. I had seen clips online of the energy Frasco can bring to a performance, but I really wasn’t sure about what I was getting myself into. The opening act was Mihali, the former frontman for the band Twiddle. I had seen Twiddle before, so I was assured that I would at least enjoy Mihali, and if Frasco was good that would just be a bonus. My expectations were blown away.
For those unfamiliar, Paradise Rock Club is a legendary little venue in Boston. It has an open floor and then a wrap around balcony. According to my Google search, it holds 933 people. This number seems very high for how much space there is inside. Regardless of the size, since its opening in 1977, some huge names have played it. AC/DC, Aerosmith, Talking Heads, and Pixies to just scratch the surface.
Both bands this night exceeded my expectations. Starting it off, Mihali had an amazing set to wind up the crowd. Mihali’s solo music strays away from the music he was making with Twiddle. He leans more into reggae, which I absolutely loved to hear. He was joined by some extraordinary musicians on stage including a sax, trumpet, bass and a drummer. All of which had incredible solo’s during the set. The brass instrument solo’s were my personal favorite so I was happy to see them join Frasco’s brass section during the main act.
If there was one word to describe the Andy Frasco set, I would say immersive.. He does not simply ask the crowd for energy, he insists upon it. After witnessing what I saw, the number of Frasco band tees in the crowd makes sense. The man makes you feel like you too are a vital component of the performance.
Frasco opened with a few songs then brought up Mihali to join for the rest of the set. Mihali has such a distinct voice, it was very cool to see him collaborate with Frasco. One by one, Andy Frasco kept adding individuals to the stage. Frasco pitted members of his own band against members of Mihali’s for “battles”, and definitely wanted to see blood. At points there were around 10 people on stage with Frasco orchestrating the chaos. Simply put, it was a party.
At one point Frasco had band members crowd surfing to a bottle of Jameson in the back of the venue and then back to the stage. While standing in the middle of the crowd, Frasco organized two proper Hora’s (traditional Jewish dance where you hold hands and dance in a circle) with the crowd. Frasco is a professional entertainer at his core. I highly recommend catching a show if you have a chance.
To learn more about Andy Frasco & the U.N., check out their Website
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