New York City based rock band Quarters Of Change bring the party back home to a sold out Webster Hall with support from fellow NYC based acts Laundry Day and The Backfires
A gorgeous Saturday night in New York City in the midst of the holiday season has the streets hustling bustling in typical NYC fashion. Spectators made their way to the legendary Webster Hall as The Backfires kicked off the show at 7:30 on the dot. The Backfires are a rock band based out of NYC, but officially formed in London in 2018 when their frontman/vocalist Alex Gomez studied abroad and met guitarist Harry Ruprecht and drummer Max Wanduragala. Gomez’s child friend Matt Walter would join the band in 2019 on bass.
The Backfires kicked off the set with “Joyride” which is their only single of 2023 released on February 21st. The crowd welcomed the band with loud cheers as they played through their first song. The Backfires drive their music through a multitude of guitar solos and catchy choruses you can’t help but sing along too The crowd did just that throughout the set with plenty of dancing throughout the main floor and even on the balcony as fans had a great time partying and singing along. The band took time to thank Quarters Of Change for this surreal opportunity to play with an all NYC based lineup and also thanked all of the fans for being a part of their journey.
The Backfires ended their set with “Blindsided” which was a single released back in April of 2022. “Blindsided” has become their most streamed song in Spotify currently totaled at over 875,000 streams. The Backfires kicked off the night with the perfect vibe as they made a great impression on the crowd. The band stated that they will be at their merch table after their set and fans immediately began to flock to the merch area. The fun was only beginning as the next act would bring Webster Hall off their feet.
Taking the stage next was Laundry Day. Laundry Day is a pop rock band from NYC specifically Hell’s Kitchen. Laundry Day formed in 2018 when vocalist Jude Ciula-Lipkin and co-vocalist/guitarist Sawyer Nunes began making music together while attending high school. The duo created their first song together and recruited guitarist Henry Weingartner, bassist Henry Pearl and drummer Etai Abramovich. Laundry Day is known to put on a show in style and they proved that with the stage entrance and fan interactions.
Laundry Day entered the stage in a way most other bands wouldn’t. The quintet entered the stage, arms together while performing a synchronized dance to the classic tune of “Summer Wind” by none other than Frank Sinatra. Laundry Day walked out in trench coats and hats that a mobster from the early 1900’s would wear. As they stepped closer to the middle they hung up their hats and trench coats on a coat rack and began their set. They began the set with “Dysmorphia” which is off their latest album “Younger Than I Was Before” which was released on September 1st of this year. Laundry Day made the live debut of “Breath” and “Bitter” off of that same album.
The crowd was on their feet and dancing to the up beat songs of Laundry Day. The fun turned up a notch when they began playing “Y.K.Y.N.U.N.Y” also off their latest release. Lipkin had brought out a large pizza box that said “You Know You Need Unique New York”. He had the crowd repeat the words to him as a tongue twister and he threw the box into the crowd and the crowd surfed the pizza box during the whole song. Laundry day had the crowd having the time of their lives as they enlisted help of artists Jackson August on Saxophone and newer artist Matilda Marigolds. Laundry Day left their charm on an electric crowd who were ready to blow the roof off of Webster Hall as the headliner was next to take the stage.
The sold out crowd of Webster Hall anxiously awaited for Quarters Of Change to take the stage. Quarters Of Change is an alternative rock band from NYC originally formed in 2017 and are currently signed to 300 Entertainment . Founding members Ben Roter (Vocals), Jasper Harris (Guitarist) and Attila Anrather (Drums) began as a cover band in high school, but soon they began creating their own music and would release their self titled EP in 2018 which was recorded in their high school basement. The band would stick around school after hours recording theri music and hiding from security. In 2019 they would recruit guitarist Ben Acker to finalize the lineup. The group finished up a full North American headlining tour in the early fall with support from Never Ending Fall, Rebounder and Balu Brigada on selective dates
The lights went out and a deafening roar from the crowd flooded Webster Hall. Spectators heard the commotion from the bar and lounge areas and darted up the stars to the main floor. The stage lights illuminates the pitch black room with warm colors creating anticipation for the crowd. The lights flashed creating a small light show as loud suspenseful music was the only thing being heard over the anxious crowd. The band took the stage and the deafening roar returned as Quarters Of Change kicked off their much anticipated hometown show. The group kicked off the set with “Look Alive” off their 2021 EP “New Hour”. The crowd shot out of a cannon and were singing the words as loud as possible and jumping up and down causing the room to shake. The energy followed for the next song “What I Wanted” which is also off “New Hour”.
Midway through the set, Quarters Of Change played their latest single “Heaven Bound” which was released on October 27th of this year. Quarters Of Change wouldn’t leave out their hits. They played their two most streamed songs on spotify. The most streamed song is called “Kiwi” which was a stand alone single released in January of 2022 which accumulated over 7.5 million streams.. They also released a version of “Kiwi” featuring Brooklyn based rock band “Juice” on the same release. The next most streamed song is called “T Love” which is off of their first full length album “Into The Rift” released in July of 2022. T Love has accumulated just over 7.2 million streams on spotify. The band exited the stage after playing their two biggest hits and led the crowd to believe it was all over. That would not be the case as the band returned for the encore and the crowd flooded the room with cheers.
Quarters Of Change were not done yet. The band had two more songs left for the hometown crowd. The first song out of the encore was “Die In Your Arms” an acoustic song off of “Into The Rift”. “Die In Your Arms” flipped the whole vibe upside down. This track is an emotional rollercoaster about the pain and longing of a lost love and the difficulty in letting go. Acker included a solo in this performance and dedicated this song to his father who was in attendance. A surreal moment where the crowd and band had a stronger connection than any other part of the show. Quarters of change finished the set with “Rift” also off of “Into The Rift”. The crowd had one last chance to party and they took advantage as the room was full of dancing, jumping and singing. Before the band exited the stage they thanked the hometown crowd for what they said was their best show to date and are looking forward to another show in NYC.
Thus concluding Quarters Of Change biggest hometown show to date. A night full of singing, dancing and overall partying with some of New York City’s hometown heroes. Spectators did not want their party to end as they took the party to the streets on a gorgeous Saturday night. Quarters Of Change currently have no shows planned, but fans should keep an eye out as they are working on new music to share with the whole world.
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