After a piss poor performance of Ecotone, The Blockley was itching for a good band to take the stage. A three piece effort from Philadelphia quietly took the stage and tuned their instruments. When ready, they didn't waste anytime blasting right into their opener that grabbed the audience by the balls and clits and yanked hard. Everyone in the bar was casually talking and looking elsewhere until East of Anything played those opening notes. The attention lasered right toward EOA from note one and they kept the audience glued until note last.

Gene Micofsky (lead guitar, vocals) worked the neck of the guitar like I work the shaft of my penis - furiously sliding up and down, tapping, picking, and pinching strings. The sound his guitar creates is in the perfect range for Gene's gritty bluesy voice. Gene's influences were no more evident when East of Anything exploded into a great cover of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love. The band kept the song fresh and modern, while still maintaining the parts that make it so classic. Everyone was talking about how great that cover was well after the band left the stage.

My favorite member of East of Anything is Brian Carola (bass, backing vocals). I love a man who plays the bass with his fingers. Fuck picks! The sound of a man using fingers on the thick bass strings provides a meatier, heartier sound than the strum of a plastic pick. Brian's fingers provided a deeper sound that complimented Gene's ripping blues guitar. Also ladies, a bass player who plays with his fingers is not going to get tired and can hit places you never knew existed. Just saying.

Drummers are a strange bunch and in bluesy rock it is what you leave out in the drums that makes the difference. It is supposed to be minimalistic and no frills. At times Darren Zimmer, played a bit too much,riffing like Gene and Brian were doing and it was a bit confusing sonically. It is more of a preference though, than a negative tap against Darren. I just prefer a drummer who keeps the beat at an even keel while the bass and guitar vamp over top. I also would have preferred he had a microphone to round out the vocals.

East of Anything has a big stage presence, casting a wide entertaining net across the small Blockley stage. Gene was bouncing from one side to the other while meticulously ripping up his Fender Telecastor during songs like Fall Away, You Should Know Better, and Innocent.  I toss out a lot of hyperbole around here and most times I mean it, but East of Anything has the potential to go places. Catch these rising stars right now!

Head to their main site to get all the information on their upcoming shows and a sampling of their music. Take my word for it, buy their album right now. You can get it at Best Buy and iTunes. I am so confident you will like the album that we will refund your money for the purchase of the album if you don't like it.

You can see from the pictures, no one really showed up to this show. That is The Blockley's fault for falling short on the advertising and placing the concert a bit too high (price wise) for the audience. Live and learn. As always with our pictures, click them to see the larger view. Sorry they suck, I am no photographer.