GOOD BOY/ADAN DIAZ – LIVE – THE SINCLAIR – CAMBRIDGE

GOOD BOY/ADAN DIAZ – LIVE – THE SINCLAIR – CAMBRIDGE

By Rick Fleck

Good boy and Adan Diaz play Sinclair on 4/21/2024

After a recorded introduction of the “Pokémon Theme”, Good boy opened their set with one of their most popular songs, “No Time to Explain,” a powerhouse rap that set the tone for the night. The crowd of mostly die-hards Good boy The fans didn't need to win, but the message was clear: Good boy they were going to give it their all. “No Time to Explain” led straight into another crowd favorite, “Alchemist”. Followed by “Bubbly” and I challenge you to find a more fitting song.

Good boy is a five-piece indie rock band from Toronto — singer Nick Frosst, guitarists David Wood and Jacob Tsafatinos, drummer Jon Kereliuk and bassist Michael Kozakov. They cite pop-punk and J-rock as major influences, and you can hear how past bands like Green Day, Fall Out Boy and blink-182 have influenced. Good boy also mention newer bands like Two Door Cinema Club, PUP and Bloc Party — influences you can hear in their economical song structures, graceful guitars and general dynamism. The influence of bands like Kana-Boon can also be seen, but Good boyHis music tends to be less embellished, for the better, than a lot of J-rock.

Rick Fleck photos

“First Rate Town” is one of my favorites Good boy SONGS. It's just a killer song by any measure. Good boy he played it acoustically and had the audience riveted, including me. It's a great story song and talks about the pain of heartbreak and the sometimes claustrophobic feeling of your intimate surroundings. It's a new generation's answer to Bruce Springsteen's epic 'Born to Run'. I would love to hear a live, linked version.

Wood began the song “Down with the King” by asking the crowd: “Do you mind singing with us?” The song was enhanced with some cool, modern, understated video. Several members of Good boy they have computer science degrees and have worked in software engineering. They are, without a doubt, the most social media savvy, content-savvy, gamer-friendly band I know. They reinforce these attributes by making their music open source and copyright free to content creators, drawing them into this affinity group and, in the process, growing their fan base.

Good boy it appeals to a younger demographic of people who are mostly in high school and college, although there were parents who brought children who were even younger. The show was at The Sinclair, a popular mid-sized live music venue in the heart of Cambridge's Harvard Square. Good boyThe stage personas, presentations, and pop culture associations are all younger, despite the fact that the band members are in their early to mid-thirties. (I couldn't help but think of Bob's Burgers and the show's fictional band Boyz 4 Now, and band member Matt, who clearly has his “boyz” days in the mirror.)

“Osmosis” has a cool, retro, vocal delivery that brings to mind mid-century crooners like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. It's a fresh approach and works well with the band's material. I wonder if many in the crowd made the connection, but even if they didn't, they heard some really great singing from Frosst. Kudos to whoever chose this style in these songs and did it so well. Being a fan of surf rock, I was also excited to hear surf rock guitar elements playing in “Osmosis”.

There were also fun breaks in the show, like Wheel of Chaos, where the band did whatever the aforementioned Wheel told them to do. Last night, he landed at the venue telling the band to play a song they don't know. Frosst chose Smash Mouth's “All Star,” a song they played playing the same game in Austin a month earlier. This was followed by the Irish folk song “The Rattlin' Bog”. It was fun, but it went on a bit too long, as sing-a-longs often do.

“Ground” was my favorite song of the night — a little darker in tone, a little harder/classic rock, and featured the heaviest bass of the night. Frosst also added some mariachi-style trumpet that served as a perfect enhancement. Kereliuk was incredible on drums all night. He played with deceptive simplicity and understated skill. He's not as personality wise as the other band members, especially guitarist Tsafatinos, but he held the band together with his impressive playing. Kereliuk played with a similar style, presence and flair to the late Taylor Hawkins.

Rick Fleck photos

Good boy performed an acoustic version of “Madeline” during the encore and turned into another powerful, soulful sing-a-long. “Madeline” was followed by “From the Start”, a cover song by contemporary jazz stylist LA Laufey. It was well placed, well received and given a classy introduction by Frosst. They finished the night with their most popular song, 'Mimi's Delivery Service'. The audience just loved it. I don't know how else to describe it other than to say that it was as perfect an indie, power-pop song as I've ever heard. What a way to end the show. As the old saying goes, “always leave them wanting more.”

The opening act was Adan Diaz, a 19-year-old Mexican-American musician/singer/songwriter based in Chicago. Diaz describes himself as a “bedroom pop artist,” a term he coined while writing songs in his bedroom during the COVID quarantine. Diaz enjoyed a nearly full house for his set and proved very popular with the crowd. His songs were in both English and Spanish, sometimes within the same song. Diaz's lyrics are confessional and his performance style doesn't hesitate to reveal his youthful cynicism, vulnerabilities, and ultimately, hope as he looks toward the future. Highlights were the opening “bad joke”, the old-school romance of “dificil”, the plaintiveness of “jumping fences” and the finale, the hit song “legroom”.

Good boy is an extremely talented, cohesive and uniquely focused band. They have legitimately immersed themselves in the current pop-culture and become an integral part of it at the same time. They have a keen sense of what their audience wants to hear and experience, and they deliver. Good boy they also challenge their audience, which works to keep things fresh. I'm curious to see where they go with their music and performances as the years go by and both they and their audiences experience new challenges, obstacles and triumphs.

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