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Drug Rug Proves Why You Should See Bands Play Live

January 15th, 2010

Drug Rug – Brooklyn Bowl – January 14, 2010

Drug Rug - Brooklyn Bowl - January 14, 2010
Pivoting only from her elbow, Sarah Cronin’s arm was nothing but quick flashes across the strings of her guitar. Blues riffs blasted forward in a controlled and precise way, all the while the rest of her body swayed and stuttered around the stage. Contrasted by her much more reserved counterpart and beau, Tommy Allen, the duo and their band, Drug Rug, lit up Brooklyn Bowl last night with a wild display of uniquely charming music.

Even with two full-length albums under their belt, the band still mixed up the live versions of a few songs, turning them on their heads. The once bouncing and energetic “Haunting You” became much quieter and pensive. While the slow burn of “Noah Rules” was prefaced with a much heavier Zeppelin-sounding intro. They even briefly dipped into their unrecorded pool of music, slowing the set with the ballad-like “Dark Hour.”

And while they played through grinning teeth, they even tried out a new song, working out a few kinks on the fly. Fast-paced and fun, the song included a well-placed guitar riff in the chorus that alluded to Queen’s “Crazy Little Called Love.” Drug Rug returned for an encore of “Day I Die,” featuring a musical Chinese fire drill that put Cronin behind the drums and Allen on bass for one last wonderful change of direction. —Sean O’Kane

Photos courtesy of Sean O’Kane | seanokanephoto.com

Tags: Brooklyn Bowl, Drug Rug, Photos, Review
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This Guitar-Playing Couple Is Worthy of Headlining

August 17th, 2009

Drug Rug – Mercury Lounge – August 14, 2009

Drug Rug - Mercury Lounge - August 14, 2009

In baseball it’s called pitching backward: To keep the hitter off balance, the pitcher starts with a slow pitch, like a curveball, instead of a fastball. On Friday night the Boston band Drug Rug did just that at Mercury Lounge when they started with the dreamy title track off their new album, Paint the Fence Invisible. The boyfriend-girlfriend pairing of Tommy Allen and Sarah Cronin showcased most of that sparkling new album, bringing out rockers like “Hannah Please” and spacey slow jams like “Don’t Be Frightened by the Devil.” And just when those in the crowd thought they knew what was coming, Allen or Cronin would throw a different pitch. Moving through songs fast and slow and new and old, they put on a headline-worthy performance.

Allen and Cronin brought different sides to the show, making for a wonderful split. He stayed cool, smoothly harmonizing and subtly laying down great, classic-sounding rhythm guitar. While, at center stage, she sweetly howled through each track, ripping off one bluesy guitar solo after another. Carter Tanton and Julian Cassanetti, decked out in black shades reminiscent of the Blues Brothers (as some in the crowd rowdily noted), backed the couple. This same duo performed with Drug Rug at Mercury Lounge last winter, and that experience showed. Allen and Cronin don’t always play live with the same musicians and establishing some consistency with that helped them put on one of their best New York City shows yet. “It’s like playing with family,” Allen said afterward. The show closed with a fastball—“For the Rest of Your Life,” off Drug Rug’s self-titled debut—and then one last curve as Cronin bashed the drums for “Day I Die.” Good game. —Sean O’Kane