[Night Out] Honne @ Mercury Lounge (11/03/2015)
NYers know that Mercury Lounge is essentially the "tipping point" venue for a lot of artists. Usually the trajectory for bands goes something a little like: Cake Shop/Pianos/Arlene's Grocery, Mercury Lounge/Rough Trade, and then the likes of Bowery Ballroom/Music Hall of Williamsburg/Gramercy Theatre, before moving on to the Terminal 5s, Town Halls, United Palace Theatres etc. of the world. Sometimes bands don't graduate to the next level of venues, but then there are other times like Honne on Tuesday night at Mercury Lounge that the energy was so electric that I felt like my hair was going to start standing straight up. It was already common knowledge that after their Merc and Rough Trade gigs this week that they'd be back in March 2016 for a show at Bowery Ballroom, so I think that heightened everyone's overall level of excitement.
To me, there's nothing better than realizing you're watching a pivotal moment for a band where all their hard work is finally about to pay off in a big way. I knew it the second we walked up to Mercury Lounge that night and heard some girls in line ahead of us giggling in excitement because they had seen Andy and James leave the venue a few minutes ago. A lot of times the people seeing shows at Merc are either jaded or too cool to show their level of excitement, but everyone in line was SO. STOKED. TO. BE. SEEING. HONNE. That made me even more excited for my pre-show interview with the band, which was awesome. Sprout and I were immediately greeted with hugs as we all introduced ourselves. Our chat was honestly super great. I can't wait to transcribe it for you all to check out for yourselves. These are some really legit dudes who are worthy of the success that is about to hit them like a semi-truck.
Like I hinted at before, their performance was electrifying. I haven't seen that much dancing in Mercury Lounge in awhile. I'm also fairly convinced that come 9 months from now that there is going to be a baby whose middle name is Honne, Andy, or James, if you catch my drift.
Is it March 11th yet?
If you haven't bumped their latest baby-making jams yet, you most definitely need to check out their new EP Over Lover:
You can also have a look at the photos Sprout took of the night in the slideshow below: