The small, half-bar, half-venue that is Broadway Bar is tucked in the middle of a block filled with quaint storefronts that line one of the main streets of Amityville, NY.  Those surroundings helped mask the mayhem that was going on inside on Friday night when two of Long Island’s best opened for the modern-day soul-rockers Bad Rabbits.

Night Fevers primed the fans early with their hook-packed half-hour set.  Lead singer Jack Tangney set the bar high, as he usually does, flying around the crowded stage, flanked by dueling guitar solo machines Danny Rocco and Gerard Lange.  The front half of the crowd turned into a dancing, glittery mess (thanks to the band’s dedicated fans) during songs like the must-listen “Way I Am,” and even kept up the energy during the newer, unrecorded material.  Luckily for those in attendance the night didn’t end as abruptly as it did the last time we saw Night Fevers play, and the show continued.

Where Night Fevers went for the throat with boisterous riffs and killer choruses, Gabriel the Marine presented their own take on catchy pop/rock, letting violinist Dylan Ebrahimian take a major portion of the most memorable musical lines (a la Yellowcard) while singer and guitarist Mike Desmond shared a differing type of high-register vocals from Tangney’s.   The band played a number of stick-in-your-brain songs like “Maybe Baby” and “On and On,” the latter of which blended the best from each member of the band.

After what could have been just an excellent local showcase, Boston-based Bad Rabbits finished the night.  Brought in by promoter LiveSource to give the show an extra bit of punch, the band did just that and then some.  Led by singer Dua Boakye, the soul-pop group combined Morris Day & The Time styled moves with post-millennium flare.  When Boakye wasn’t leading the riveted crowd through shout-choruses in songs like “Stick Up Kids,” he was pulling other members of the band off their normal duties to perform slide-stepping and spinning dance moves.  While their style seemed primed for a big band setup, the rhythm section packed enough funk into each song that all Bad Rabbits needed was the basics: great vocals, strong-but-simple instrumentation, and a room full of fans committed to the moment.  The payoff for the energy the crowd put in was a tribute to the late King of Pop himself – an excellent three-song medley of “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” “Rock With You,” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.”

- Sean O’Kane

Bad Rabbits

Gabriel The Marine

Night Fevers

PHOTOS BY DANA CAMA