Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere: The Nude Party Spend a Tuesday Night in Santa Fe
Fresh off their tour supporting Orville Peck, the Catskills retro garage rockers are headlining through the west
About halfway through their smoking set at Santa Fe Brewery last night, The Nude Party launched into a faithful cover of Neil Young’s 1969 classic song, “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.” While Young, a Canadian, wrote the tune about his disillusionment with the Los Angeles music scene, it was as if The Nude Party were referencing a rare tour stop between the usual go-to’s in Phoenix and Austin.
Skipping Santa Fe, a capital town chock full of artists and creatives who crave stuff like a night out dancing to some groovy tunes is one of my favorite things to bitch about. Earlier in the day, I scanned through Alvvays’ highly anticipated and long overdue North American tour (along with their first record in five years coming out before the end of the year). I felt the expected disappointment when I saw the Torontonians electing to roll from San Diego straight thru to Austin. As usual, I thought, “at least I’ve seen them before.”
Kudos to The Nude Party’s booking team for having them stop through town.
So what is the state of The Nude Party, a band who aren’t necessarily promoting a new album, with their last, Midnight Manor, arriving in 2020?
Though a little road weary (drummer Connor Mikita noted he elected for a break earlier in the day to see Top Gun: Maverick, while singer Patton Magee took in the latest Comcast/Universal Pictures Dino IP Installment™), all seven members gave the quaint but lively crowd their all while shoved onto the crowded stage at The Bridge. Rolling through a set list that included selections from Midnight Manor and their untouchable self-titled debut, the band was in a rebellious and rollicking mood.
It’s worth noting that openers Ceramic Animal were also in fine form, playing through a literal haze thanks to the overzealous use of a fog machine. The clouded setting worked perfectly as the fog filled the empty dance floor while the crowd shuffled in from the bar. The atmosphere changed through their last few songs as keyboardist Elliot Regan lent his vocals for a slow-building neo-psychedelic tune. The rest of the set had everyone on the floor while they finished with a run that this music writer can only describe as “spilling the bong water on the record player.”
With The Nude Party firing on all cylinders, it’s easy to see how Magee, bassist Alec Castillo, and guitarist Shaun Couture are the driving forces in the band. But in a live setting with the boards mixed smoothly, keyboardist Don Merrill and percussionist Austin Brose, along with touring pedal steel player “Catfish” Delorme, really take The Nude Party to the next level. Merrill, with his perfectly coiffed hair that would be a fit for Adam Sandler’s nameless wedding cover band, and Brose wore smiles all night to liven up the room and keep the people dancing.
I always appreciate seeing a band in transition, which The Nude Party very much are, as they played a new earworm called “Right On” from their forthcoming album. In classic record industry shenanigans form, there was a mention of an obligated third album in their contract, and there’s no sense in cashing in on the greatest hits or b-sides collection when the iron is hot, as is the case with The Nude Party. If their first two records and early EPs are any indications, they won’t miss on this new one either.
By the night’s end, Magee was fully in on the Santa Fe fun, commenting that they were having a great time and much preferred it to a stop in Albuquerque (I feel ya, dude). They weren’t the only ones, as we watched another blushed-out coral sunset between bands and talked to a few tourists who were stopping through (yes, the days almost always end with that solar magic here).
So thanks to The Nude Party for stopping by while on their way back to the Catskills, and if you’re a tour booker reading this, don’t be a dummy. Send the bands to Santa Fe.
Let’s check-in and let me know what your summer concert plans are! Have you been to any rad shows? Anything you’re looking forward to attending? Leave a comment!
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No shows yet this summer. I have an unblemished track record of missing bands that have come through here (or Milwaukee). I'm hoping to change that soon.