The Triangle

Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Anna Clay

When Bryce Avary of The Rocket Summer stepped on stage to open his set during The Cheap Date tour, he did so without his band. He headed for the drums, and after setting a beat, he let it play as a loop. He proceeded to play the guitar, bass, and keyboard, letting each instrument record and the sounds repeat before he approached the microphone and added vocals. After Avary enticed the audience to sing along, the members of his band appeared and joined in for the opening, energetic song, "Break It Out." This unique opening to Avary's performance made it instantly clear that the 27-year-old musician possesses a wealth of talent.

Avary started his pop rock project, The Rocket Summer, in his early teens and played shows solo with an acoustic guitar. While he put together a band for touring, The Rocket Summer remains a solo act at its core. Avary writes and produces his own music and plays every instrument on his albums. He has passion and sincerity that today's music industry often lacks. He composes catchy melodies and writes honest lyrics that are far from empty and translate well into a powerful live show.

The Rocket Summer performed at the Trocadero Saturday, Nov. 14 along with Forever the Sickest Kids, Sing It Loud, My Favorite Highway, and two additional openers. Avary's set definitely stood out amongst the others. His liveliness and ability to involve the audience made his performance memorable. At one point during his set, he disappeared from the stage only to reappear on a platform by the side of the crowd where he was instantly surrounded by fans. The Rocket Summer creator played an acoustic number, then handed off his guitar in order to crowd-surf back to the stage. During the song, "So Much Love," a fan joined Avary on stage, playing the flute, as a winner of an online contest.

After delivering a more than enjoyable performance, he tied things up with his usual closing track, "So in This Hour…" a six minute, chills-inducing song. On Avary's record, the song is beautiful, but when produced live, it is only enhanced by the audience's ability to see Avary pour energy into it. An extended portion of "So in This Hour…" with uplifting lyrics and jumpy, infectious keyboard chords brings new life to the song and makes it the perfect ending to the set.

Hopefully Philadelphia will be blessed with Avary's presence again in 2010 after the release of his new album, "Of Men and Angels." The record was finished in spring 2009, but because of label troubles, its release has been pushed back until early 2010.

To hold fans over, the "You Gotta Believe" EP, containing four songs, was released Oct. 27. In keeping with Avary's constant efforts to involve his fans in his music, currently a music video containing fan-submitted content is in works for the song "You Gotta Believe."

The project started around ten years ago but is still going strong. Avary's talent and devotion will ensure a bright future for his efforts.

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