#eotcdxvi

           Well, it happened! The place was New York City’s Webster Hall, the date August 16, 2016. It was, of course, everything we could have ever imagined. Envy on the Coast is one of the few bands that deliver consistency again and again no matter the venue or size of the crowd. They are hard-hitting from beginning to end in terms of curating pristine set lists and never failing to connect with our souls, exhausted as we mirror Ryan Hunter’s energy.

           Nothing is more off-putting than a band that engages in painfully generic banter every couple of songs. Yeah, we’re there for the music. Most of us are there, however, because the music does a lot more for us than just sound pretty. It seeps into our blood and runs through our veins – there’s a serious physical and emotional connection happening when we listen to our favorite music. That idea in mind, imagine seeing it live! It’s easily my favorite experience and though I’ve been to (probably) almost 100 shows by now, I never get tired from it or disconnect emotionally. If I’m not ‘going through the motions,’ the creators on stage aren’t allowed to, either.

           Ryan and his best friend and band mate, Brian Byrne, would never dream of doing such a thing. Envy’s members have figured out how to talk to us because they know how intense their period of absence was for us. I begged the virtual world for them in June 2012, but we had already been without them since July-ish of 2010. We saw some amazing music within that time period from our favorite humans – North Korea, 1st Vows (wow, amazing), and The Hand That Wields It. The six-year wait was padded with some comfort of familiar voices, but we couldn’t help but yearn for screaming our favorites from back in the day at the band in a sweaty room.

           So the EOTC reunion happened (and I went into a slump the next day after experiencing something so thrilling) and we also got some nice, mellow action down on Long Island where we heard SO many great songs while raising some funds for Planned Parenthood. Ryan and Brian gathered a couple of great musicians to feed us some of their post-Envy jams, cover songs, and classics. It was a beautiful, intimate evening down to the décor, which for some reason was important to me. That night, they confirmed there would be new Envy material and we found relief. Being the pessimist I am, however, I would walk on eggshells and not get my hopes up.

           That all changed this weekend at Brooklyn Bazaar, an entertainment mecca in Greenpoint that supports a lot of things like putting on shows (mediocrely, more on that later), feeding you bar snacks, and letting you play ping pong. 2 nights of our band helping us tear the place up was just what we needed. Amazing attention to detail when it came to delivering the music paired with infectious energy coming from the whole band made a weekend we won’t ever forget. The experience was really reinforced, however, by what our friends in the band said to us. After giving us absolutely everything he had during a song, Ryan let us know how he was feeling in that moment. I can’t thank him enough for letting us into his mind and heart. He explained that he needed the experience that was transpiring even more than we did. We can now understand that all of us connecting through music is essential to his wellbeing. It brought me to tears to know that, I don’t know about anyone else. It was just a beautiful exclamation of that fact that we support them in more ways than just buying their music so they can make more.

           Then something else amazing happened – they played a new song! Let’s be honest, every time a band says “we’re gonna play a new one now” it’s always a little bit of a let down. More often than not, I just wanna head bang and sing to what I know and I’m sure I’m not alone in that. This was a completely different situation though. “Virginia Girls” was a complete jam and it’s newness made the set for me. What is super appealing to me about Envy on the Coast is their ability to make songs that are just so good to see live, so even if you don’t know the words you can still get down and get down hard. Again, utter relief. We now have more proof that they are not going anywhere. Brian’s excitement to play the new song helped put my mind at ease that they are enjoying the journey of creating together again.

           Friday night, before they started “Virginia Girls,” I heard a murmur over the venue’s PA system. Something about getting shut down, to which Brian responded something like “Okay shut us down, you’re the ones who started late.” Yeah, doors opened about 30 minutes late. They played the new song and at the end, there was more talk of getting shut down. Sure, they had already blown our faces off with an amazing performance that night, but I couldn’t imagine it ending without a song we all knew. There was an aggressive employee from the venue getting on stage, yelling at our guys to stop playing – she said they had “another show.” Irrelevant. From the crowd we stood our ground, yelling back at her as she yelled in Ryan’s face that was delivering a voice of reason, trying to say it’s literally only going to take 3:00 (Headfirst in the River clocks in at 3:48, close enough). You really had to see this scene. It was intense and I was scared but they held on and gave us our final song and gratitude rushed over me as I watched this miserable girl stand on the side of the stage when she didn’t get her way. Thankfully, Saturday went off without a hitch.

           So basically what I’m trying to say is I am so damn appreciative of this band and their constant effort to give us the best possible experiences. Since my first Envy show in December 2006 at The Ritual on Long Island when they only had a 5 song EP out, they have grown into exceptional musicians and human beings (which may be even more important).