BrightestYoungThings: Live DC: U.S. Royalty / Phil Ade / Poor But Sexy @ The Hotel

all words: Sepie Moinipanah
all photos: Mark Silva

Having just bumped into Matthew Hemerlein and the Thornley brothers Thursday night at The Family Hemerlein Variety Show (more on that shortly-ed), I was reminded that U.S. Royalty was headlining a concert at the Rock ‘N Roll Hotel the following evening. Not much convincing was needed to get me to go – I had received the quartet’s EP a while back and was instantly hooked.

The night kicked off promptly at 9:30 with Poor But Sexy on the stage. This five-member manned band greeted the already nearly packed venue with smooth sounds that had many bobbing and swaying. Two beers later, the much anticipated Phil Ade (pronounced Ah-day – thanks Hemerlein) took the mic. The crowd absolutely lost their minds – including my friends and me. Going into this sha-bang as a Phil Ade virgin, I walked out proud to have popped my cherry. This guy and his crew are wickedly awesome.

Lastly, the guys from U.S. Royalty wrapped things up with a solid performance that included guest appearances from Hemerlein on violin and Phil Ade as the MC. The super-group, which I will dub U.S. Ade, really stepped it up when they surprised the crowd goers with “My Trials”. It was very Blakroc-ish and it was simply amazing. They certainly got the audience working – those who knew the words to the tunes rocked out and those who did not rocked out even harder. I must admit, I have been obsessing over their EP during the week of their show and felt that their live performance was a refreshing experience and complimented their studio work well. These guys seemingly play every day but that doesn't mean you should pass up on your next chance. Good times were most certainly had.