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

Your Holiday Update and Gift Ideas

Happy Holidays to all, and our deepest apologies in being silent for many months in the blog world. Think of this as our annual Christmas/New Year's letter to you all.


Some updates: The band is doing well, and is happily winding up the 2009 year with one more show in New York City at our favorite spot, The Sidewalk Cafe. Go to thesobriquets.com for complete info on everything upcoming.

We've been experimenting with acoustic performances lately, including a great performance at our favorite Phoenixville haunt, Steel City Coffee House. We've got a little video clip here of one of the songs (I'll get a non-Facebook link up as soon as I can).

In direct opposition of intimate acoustic sounds, last night we were fortunate enough to play at The Blockley Pourhouse, which is a trek of about 6 blocks from our practice space. Not only was our set one of the tighter, louder and more energetic sets we've done in a while, but we got to share the stage with The Lights Out, an absolutely amazing band from Boston. Check these guys out, they are well worth your time.

With the holidays fast approaching, we thought we'd help you all out a bit with the ever pressing question of what gift to get for whomever. The Sobriquets' albums are available from a wide range of online retailers, including iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby. With just a few clicks, you could be giving someone special the gift of homegrown, 100% independent music.

Thanks to everyone whose come out and seen us in 2009, we've had a blast playing for you. Coming up in early 2009, we've got shows in Brooklyn, Harrisburg, Philadelphia and our own curated night at The Blinkin' Lincoln in Roxborough, just outside of Philadelphia. Think of it as a mini All Tomorrow's Parties, if ATP were only one night, had about three bands and was in Roxborough. It will also be significantly less expensive.

We'll be closing out the year with some best-of-the-year lists from each of The Sobriquets, and we'll give you all a full run-down of upcoming events by the start of the new year. We wish you all a very happy holiday season, and hope to see you all very soon!