surfing on a rocket dailey

It's August 28th, 2009. Will Dailey lights up the stage of a dark and ancient building, where bouncers and bartenders make you wonder what happened to the concept of a smile. Will is the one to bring you back to life with his sparkling eyes and dazzling lyrics, and the hint of an edgier rock set revives you as you as the lights flitter from red to purple to white.

My friends are drunk and giggling in some corner of The Bowery Ballroom, and I'm lit on one gin and tonic spiked with Dailey and his crew. The music makes feel light on my feet and their rock energy of the evening feels different from that of the last performance I attended on 07.28.09 at The Mercury Lounge. I have heard listeners deem this band "generic" and "grade-B pop", but I strongly beg to differ: With the ability to switch genre gears with ease, to be as playful as 5 year-old kids with their music, and with the pure ability to have fun with their performance, I say these guys are grade-A non-generic music makers.

Will Dailey and The Rivals are as vibrant as the filtered strobes that dance all around them on stage. For sure, Dailey is the whip cream smile on a stack of pancakes that you can't eat because you're too hungover. And in a confused world and a messy time, these guys stand out with guitars, drums, voice, song, and a hell of a good amount of noise, to make some serious sense and some clean movement in the right direction. Photography by Melissa Lynn of beIMAGED Photography.