Push Play with Emily Osment in Providence
December 2, 2009 by Kristen Pierson
Filed under Concert Reviews
Push Play with Emily Osment
November 24, 2009
Club Hell
Providence, RI
A good sized crowd, and a lively mix of seven-year-olds to thirty-somethings, filled Club Hell for tonight’s event. The club’s stage is only about a foot higher than the main floor and there’s no barrier, so the crowd is able to get right up close to the artists. That would prove to be adventageous for the bands performing tonight.
Photo by Kristen Pierson
Once Phil Bensen wrapped up his opening set, Emily Osment and her band took to the stage and the crowd started buzzing with excitement. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Osment’s performance, but after a few bars it became clear that she’s serious about her music and has the vocal and guitar playing talent to back it up. The fans in the crowd were completely sucked into the show and were energetically moving to the music. I had a hard time finding something solid to lean on in order to take a steady photo because the whole venue was shaking with fans moving to the beat.
Next up were headliners Push Play, and many of the girls in the crowd started screaming as they jumped onstage. Right away, many started singing along to the music from Push Play’s debut album Found. At nineteen-years-old, CJ Baran is already shaping up to be a formidable front-man who knows how to draw the crown into the music. He even pulled one lucky girl onstage to be serenaded.
Photo by Kristen Pierson
Highlights of Push Play’s performance include a lively cover of the Beastie Boys’ classic “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!).” The crowd loved that one. Also at one point Osment’s drummer jumped up onstage to join the band for a song. He and Derek Ries played completely in sync and each had looks of excitement on their faces because they played so well together. It’s such a blast watching musicians having such a good time.
Another real treat for fans happened toward the end of Push Play’s set when Emily Osment joined the band onstage for a duet. Osment and Baran have a lot of onstage chemistry and sang very well together.
After the show all the bands moved to the back of the club to sign autographs. There were a lot of the people, but everyone patiently waited their turn as the bands happily interacted with each fan. Emily Osment and Push Play, both with only one release-worth of material, did a great job putting together what turned out to be a tremendous experience for fans. Great music, great times.
