After a six year struggle with record labels, Tally Hall finally released their highly anticipated album, Good & Evil, over the summer. Armed with new music, the gentlemen of Tally Hall embarked on a nationwide tour of the same name, which THE INFERNO had the pleasure of attending. Tally Hall put on a performance on par with expectations and their opening acts were a surprising treat.
The show opened with Casey Shea, an artist from Brooklyn who took the stage alone, performing his songs acousticly. Despite his simple, acoustic set-up Shea still managed to have command over the audience for his
entire set. If his catchy songs and talent were not enough to keep people captivated, his humor and personality definitely were. His set of pop rock songs such as “Jennifer” and “Chelsea” were accompanied by many jokes. At one point, he even paused dramatically mid-strum in order to allow the audience the opportunity to get their ‘perfect action shot.’ The combination of humor and talent made Shea’s act an unexpected highlight of the evening.
Next up was SPEAK, a pure pop band from Austin, Texas. The four piece seems to draw influence from a combination of classic bands such as the Talking Heads and modern bands like Ok Go and HelloGoodbye.
The combination of the electronic keyboards and their strong vocal harmonization made them a perfect fit on the bill of performers. Finally, it was time for Tally Hall to take the stage. Rob Cantor, Ross Federman, Joe Hawley, Andrew Horowitz and Zubin Sedghi took the stage dressed in white button downs and matching yellow, gray, red, green and blue ties respectively. The band has become famous for their performance attire, and the members are often recognized by their trademark tie color.
They opened their set with the song “&” off their new album. The song is the perfect opener, highlighting the band’s musical and vocal talents, as well as getting the audience moving with the contagious drum beat. They continued with “Welcome to Tally Hall,” a quirky rap off their first album, “Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum.” The rap playfully introduces each band member and is a definite crowd pleaser, resulting in much audience participation.
Tally Hall’s show consisted of old favorites such as “Good Day” and “Greener” which is a simple pop song sung by Cantor.
Though the main event of the show their performances of the songs off of Good and Evil. They played almost every song off of the album, including “Cannibal” and “A Lady.” The band also covered “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which was the perfect selection for their quirky, fun style. The band took a seat and let Horowitz (green tie) take center stage on the piano for the slow love song “You.” Hawley (red tie) also got individual attention during his song “Hymn for a Scarecrow.” Despite the occasional song featuring one member, Tally Hall really shone when they worked collectively and harmonized.
The highlight of the show had to be the encore, when Tally Hall let SPEAK and CaseyShea join them on stage to cover “Because” by the Beatles, completely a cappella. The wide range of talented
vocalits did justice to a well-known song and concluded the night beautifully.
