San Fermin- Turner Hall Ballroom 1/19/14

While the band hails from New York City, it felt like somewhat of a homecoming show when San Fermin took the stage at the Turner Hall Ballroom, as touring lead vocalist Rae Cassidy is originally from Brookfield and guitarist Tyler McDiarmid from Menomonee Falls.  San Fermin is somewhat of a challenging act to describe... fronted by two vocalists, Cassidy and Allen Tate, two virtuoso horn players, a keyboardist (Ellis Ludwig-Leone, who is the songwriter and composer of the seven-piece band), a violinist who sings back-up vocals, and a drummer, San Fermin produces a wide, dramatic and eclectic sound. Some numbers are more rooted in pop, others in jazz, and still others ("Oh Darling" to be specific) have almost a bluesy-lounge sort of vibe, but when put together these accomplished and talented musicians delivered a remarkable performance, and one of the best "Pabst $10 Shows" I've seen in years.

The band is touring in support of their 2013 debut album which dropped in September, and kept their setlist to their album (aside from a Strokes cover for an encore).  While the album is a solid listen from front to back, San Fermin's live performance of the songs surpasses the album for the most part, as you can see how much passion and precision the band has.

It is hard to take your eyes off of Rae Cassidy on stage.  She delivers vocals with a tremendous range and operatic style, not unlike some of Joss Stone's work.  At her side, Allen Tate's deep baritone vocals remind me a lot of a cross between Bill Callahan, and Matt Berringer of the National.  However, with all the different sounds blending around in San Fermin, it often fell to the horn section of John Brandon and Stephen Chen, to glue the whole sound together. After all, with no bass player, it was often up to Chen to keep the beats in line with the drums.   

Highlights of the set included a riveting rendition of "The Count," which had an amazing horn solo that brought the tune together, "Sonsick," the band's biggest hit to date, and set-closer, "Daedalus (What We Have),"  which sounds like it could have been penned by Sufjan Stevens.  San Fermin is an act oozing in talent like a slice of Rocky Rococco's pizza oozes with cheese.  I'm quite curious to see how San Fermin progresses in the future.  Their future is very bright.

Setlist compliments of Piet Levy and TapMilwaukee:

THE SETLIST

1. "Renaissance!"
2. "Crueler Kind"
3. "Casanova"
4. "Sonsick"
5. "Methuselah"
6. "Torero"
7. "The Count"
8. "Bar"
9. "Oh, Darling"
10. "Daedalus (What We Have)"
Encore
11. "Heart in a Cage" (The Strokes cover)