The Northern @ Sullivan Hall

Just last week, The Northern played at Sullivan Hall, the renamed and renovated Lion’s Den. (Changes! Everywhere changes!) It was fun. Also, it was interesting. I should point out that I happen to live with half of this band – but I highly recommend them. They aren’t your typical friend rock. Aaron, the drummer, invited all sorts of people from Apostles (that’s my church), so we had Navigators and Apostles and general people all mixed together. I love when that happens. I think the best was when something like two girls in a row came over to say hi to my obscenely popular friend Grant, then stopped mid-hug to say hi to Ryan, another ridiculously popular friend of mine. Grant was just like, “Did that just happen?” I wish I had a Venn Diagram. Anyhow, since my other roommate with the camera was on a film shoot, I’ve got the exclusive photography from this show.

I have got to say that, no matter how many times I hear them, they still amaze me. These guys are ridiculously talented and write really hopeful, life-affirming music along the same lines as Aqualung or Coldplay. It’s tough to start and succeed as a band in this city, but these guys are living proof that if you try hard enough at it and keep your nose to the grindstone, good things will happen.

Let me also mention that I LOVE the lighting at Sullivan Hall. I also love that you can get right up to the stage without too much trouble. The only problem is that the good bands coming through this venue are few and far between. They mostly cater to local NYU bands (that’s how I started going back when it was still the Lion’s Den), and, honestly, many of them are just not that good. But as far as a club goes, it’s pretty decent. So those rare times you get to see a worthwhile band there, you remember it for a long time.

See Also: The Northern @ Tisch School of the Arts, October 24, 2008