The Bay Bridged Third Anniversary: Heavenly States, Birds And Batteries - Review, Pics

Okay kids, we know this is a bit late in the pipeline, but we had such a good time at this show, we couldn't even think about not hitting you up with some pics and a quick review. As you may have heard, the folks over at The Bay Bridged had their 3rd anniversary party at the Rickshaw Stop back on February 5th. The show was a killer lineup of some of the best bands the Bay Area's offering up at the moment: Geographer, Birds And Batteries, and The Heavenly States.

Unfortunately, we missed Geographer's set, which was by all accounts unmissable (so, there you go!), and settled in towards the beginning of Birds and Batteries' set. Having never seen or heard them in a live setting before, we were pretty psyched to see that they lived up to all of their good reputation. The band played a thoroughly enjoyable set of synth-ish indie pop, but it was noticeably more guitar centric than on the record. In fact, we'd venture to say that the whole set was a bit more driven than the recording. The band delivered an awesome set that successfully roped in the crowd, and left the band sweating and happy.

As The Heavenly States took the stage, we had more of an idea of what we were getting into. That being said, we have to openly admit that this was the best show we've seen out of them so far. The set was more rocking, the band more engaged, and the overall feel of the set was more committed.

Perhaps (and this is just a guess) it was because this was the first "real" headlining show we've seen them play. Everything else has been either opening slots, awards shows, or charity gigs. What can we say - seeing the States kick this much ass just made us love them that much more. Plus, there was a Sparks cover - now can you really argue with that?

All in all, the night turned out to be exactly what it was supposed to be: a solid celebration of local live music, and a party for the folks over at The Bay Bridged. Congrats, guys! Here's to another three years and more!

Many more photos at the HAD Archive