Aotearoa impresses at the Eighth Street Tap Room

It's a rare pleasure to discover a brilliant new band, full of potential, just getting started. A diamond in the rough is exciting to see because you can hear the natural talent, the practiced skill and the capacity for greatness.

Monday night the Eighth Street Tap Room was hosting five different local bands, each given a short time slot to give the mixed audience of indie hipsters a taste of their style. Among the various bands playing was a duo that call themselves Aotearoa. The pair of musicians switched instruments for different songs, one on drums the other playing electric guitar. This band alone made the show worth the three dollar cover charge.
Their set was short, just a few quick songs, but it was impressive. The rhythmic drum beats and snappy, clever guitar riffs worked together in perfect harmony. The instruments backed up the singing to form funky songs that were easy to groove to and catchy enough that every song left the audience cheering for more.
Jake Lerman, one of the band members, looped guitar riffs to play a second guitar part along with the first, and even picked up a second pair of drum sticks and played fast, wicked percussion on a cowbell, cymbals and other percussion pieces alongside with the other drummer. Between the two musicians they produced more separate sounds in their songs than any average pair of artists could.

Aotearoa's style of funky, jam-band rock was danceable and fun, although you would not have guessed it from the shy crowd that stood around the Tap Room basement. Nonetheless the band's sound was fantastic and addictive and got the audience moving way more than the previous band.
Every song was a brilliant, but short piece, that could easily be extended to a full set. This band has the talent, skill and potential to rise up high in the local music scene. As a fan of bigger local bands with a similar style, this reviewer would like very much to see Aotearoa take a shot at opening for such big names as Mouth or The Floozies. With a little luck these musicians can meet up and see just how well they can work together. Keep an eye out for more shows from Aotearoa, they are definitely worth checking out.