Top Ten Venues of 2009

The best venues we performed at in 2009, in no particular order.

Sidewalk Cafe - New York, NY
Our favorite place to play, hands down. A laid-back candlelit room, there's someone new and interesting playing there all the time. Great food and staff, and the coolest sound guy ever - who may or may not be named after a famous brand of cookies.

Tammany Hall - Worcester, MA
The biggest stage we've played on to date, the band has never before enjoyed so much freedom to jump, run, spin or headbang. Not to mention the bartender who will teach you the finer points of the beer/glass relationship.

The Local 269 - New York, NY
A small corner of the Lower East Side, its eclectic mix of performers, generous pints of just about everything, and the fact that they will keep your lost equipment under lock and key until you arrive to retrieve it put The Local 269 quickly on this list.

The Blockley Pourhouse - Philadelphia, PA
Second biggest stage we played on this year, and first time we were ever able to watch sports on TV during our set. Thankfully, the Eagles won. And we got to meet The Lights Out. Did I mention it's only a few blocks from where we practice? That was a plus.

The Hellenic Center - Dover, NH
A room so big that if you stood too far in the back, you couldn't hear us play. OK, I exaggerate. We had a fantastic time, mostly because of the really nice staff, hosts, and our lively audience - 200 guests of John and Courtney's wedding. The most fun we had all year - thanks, guys.

Philadelphia Vintage Stores - Philadelphia, PA
Our good friends and fans at Reverie Vintage and The Curiosity Shoppe allowed us to show that we can play without amplifiers just as well as with them. The intimate setting was a great way for us to interact with the audience, and gave us an opportunity to support two fine local businesses. And for Dan to model ladies' coats.

Langdon St. Cafe - Montpelier, VT
As a Pennsylvanian, it's not too often that I can step up to a coffeehouse counter and order a pastry AND a beer. But the Langdon St. cafe has a great combination of hip coffeehouse and cozy bar atmosphere. It allowed us to meet Driftwood, crazy-good musicians and crazy-nice people. Plus, Montpelier is picturesque.

The M Room - Philadelphia, PA
Great food, quality performers, and an awesome sound guy who may or may not be named after a talking car driven by David Hasselhoff. They do a good job of making us feel like we're actually in New York.

Joe Squared - Baltimore, MD
Amazing square pizza, cool stage lighting, and the some of the best indie music to be seen and heard in Baltimore. The best part: it's close enough that we can still drive home and sleep in our own beds after a gig!

Steel City Coffeehouse - Phoenixville, PA
The perfect coffeehouse atmosphere in a hoppin' town. The staff always takes great care of us, and the sound is always phenomenal - thanks to a sound guy who may or may not be named Baron.


Happy New Year!
- Nick

Happy Monday?

Hi everyone, this is Nick.
I hit stuff for The Sobriquets. I'll be posting here every Monday. Since no one really likes Mondays, I'll do my best to post something to cheer you up. What makes you happy? Let us know in the comments section and I'll look for some tiny pieces of happiness and bring them to you via Songs De Guerre.

Tonight's happiness is about us, The Sobriquets. We just had a meeting about plans for our summer tour, and it looks like we'll be playing a lot of shows, probably even one near you. So keep checking our site and this blog for updates on where you can see us. We'll also be releasing our first record with the full band lineup this summer. And since I was able to contribute to making this one, I am a very happy man. We're really excited for everyone to hear it.

Stay tuned for additional weekly posts from the unique perspective of each Sobriquet. Thanks for reading, and we look forward to your comments and feedback about the blog and the band.

Oh, and above is a picture of the first time I played the drums.
Do I look happy? I think I may have been a little uncomfortable in those overalls.