Sleeping at last

How many bands do you know that can play close to an hour’s worth of music without touching a standard six-string guitar? Sleeping At Last can, and they do it well. Though it was more packed than at 12:30 on a weekday, the dark side of Lane was utterly silent while the three-and-a-half-man ensemble played last Friday night.

Singer Ryan O’Neal began the set with a ukulele in hand. Dan Perdue alternated between keys and bass, while stand-in drummer Aaron Mortenson kept the beat for his first ever live show with Sleeping At Last. In spite of the absence of a guitar, Sleeping At Last achieved a sound reminiscent of the Fray or Coldplay.

Ryan explained after the show that his love for Hawaii inspired him to include the uke on the band’s third nationally released album, Storyboards. “It’s the most exciting instrument I’ve picked up since guitar,” he said. The band really branched out with Storyboards, adding new instruments like banjo and mandolin as well as the uke for a more acoustic album than their previous two.

The band was joined by solo artist Jeremy Larson, who filled in the gaps where three musicians couldn’t cover all the instruments they needed. Jeremy also opened the night with his own one-man, five-instrument set, looping tracks and building to a hypnotizing climax on each song. He layered tracks on guitar, drums, vocals, violin and cello. It might have been the best thing I've ever heard. I can hardly explain the way I felt when he was up there; it was like his music was reminding my heart how to beat. The words, the sounds, even the lights - everything about the set had my heart racing the entire time.

“I learned to play [strings] out of necessity,” Jeremy told me after the show, when I went to talk to him and the band for the Tartan. “I wanted strings on my album and didn’t know anyone who played.” He ended up contributing strings to MuteMath’s most recent album, Armistice. I was totally startstruck when he told me that. I was also at a loss for words when I noticed boxer briefs for sale at his merch table.

"Is that... really an effective way to advertise your music?" I asked. "I mean... how many people really... see that?"

He laughed. "You'd be surprised. We actually sell a lot of them. But yeah, I don't think they're a very good way to advertise...."

Maybe if you're Captain Underpants.