On a warm Saturday night in May in New York (Fuckin') City there is no shortage of good times to be had. Some sort of depravity or amazingness exists around literally every corner and the difficult decision must be made as to where to end up. I decided to go and see Go For Launch, a band who wrote a record that I have been listening to OBSESSIVELY since the moment I received a review copy a few MONTHS ago, play at The Studio at Webster Hall. I made a good fucking choice.

Given the intermittence of NYC traffic, we arrived a little bit late and missed the opening act,  but managed to catch most of Echo Kings’ set which was solid. They had a good vibe and well-written music – I’d expect to hear more out of those guys.

A little bit after 9pm Go For Launch took the stage. The energetic 5-piece easily filled out the moderate sized stage and were as much a pleasure to watch in action as they were to listen to. Opening with “Dead By Dawn” and leading into “To The Intolerant”, which close out their newest record “Frequency Change” (which can be purchased here), set a dark but beautiful tone.

The venue’s system and band both sounded outstanding and the band is simply flawless. They make it look not just easy, but remarkably fun. Its that universal kind of rock – where some guitars, a bass, a drum kit & some vocal chords throw down together and anyone can appreciate, regardless of genre preferences or predispositions. It’s just fucking good. Not to mention how much of a pleasure it is to watch these guys play their instruments. Each one of them conveys a deep passion and connection to the music they’re playing that enhances the experience for the audience. Its easy for the crowd to let go and rock the fuck out when the band lays it all out there for them.

The band continued to play through the entirety of “Frequency Change”, albeit out of order. Given that I’ve spent more time with the LP than most people would be comfortable admitting, it was a combination of jarring and exciting to have them on live shuffle, the groupings of the tracks and selection of opener and closer were masterfully executed. The set took the already well-arranged album and offered a different interpretation, which I’d venture to say (arguably of course) might have been even more cohesive. I’d like to see other bands taking a risk like this and having this level of success with the experiment.

Go For Launch are simply at the top of their game. They’ve achieved quite a bit of success in their relatively short existence and their tunes are as addictive and entrancing to the ears as a siren’s song to a Greek sailor in The Odyssey. Yes, I did just reference classical literature – and it makes perfect sense in this case because the level of intellect surrounding both the writing and comprehension of vocalist Scott Griffin’s lyrics rivals its depth. Who said rock n’ roll and academics don’t go hand in hand?

Don’t take my word for it – check out the high-quality footage from the show below of “To The Intolerant” and make your own judgment. All it takes is a taste though – and you’re hooked. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

We’ll have more on this band’s inevitable progress as it unfolds. Keep it locked to Tri-State Rock, “Like” us on Facebook & “Follow” us on Twitter for more on this and all things ROCK!