The Tea Party at the Commodore

P bought tickets to The Tea Party concert for my birthday. It was a pretty awesome show. It opened with Todd Kearns, who looks and sounds like a young Axl Rose. The next band had a more professional sound, energy, and possibly had some talent, if only every other word were not a swear word. If I was listening, I found myself laughing because it just seemed like a spoof.

When The Tea Party finally came on, they sounded better than I ever could have imagined - just brilliant. Jeff Martin has great voice that suits the dark, brooding lyrics, and played on several guitars, a mandolin and a sitar. They opened with a set of songs from their new album, including "One Step Closer Away" and the acoustic "Oceans," dedicated to their manager, Steve Hoffman, whom they lost last year. They returned to the stage with well-know favourites including "The Messenger" and "Temptation." The crowd was energetic, and we knew there would be an encore - the show finished memorably with Kearns joining the band for a cover of GunsNRoses' "Welcome to the Jungle."