MUSIC: The Sugar Honey Iced Tea Sweetens AS220

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Rob Duguay, GoLocalProv Music Critic

Laying sweet folk sounds on a packed house at AS220 this weekend: The Sugar Honey Iced Tea.

On Friday at Providence's AS220, a brilliant collection of folk and indie bands graced the stage for what was to be a show that warmed hearts and minds throughout the night. Rich Ferri & The Wealth On The Water, Art Decade, Bored With Four and The Sugar Honey Iced Tea were on a bill that brought infectious rhythms and soothing sounds. Providence's haven for music and art was surely the place to kickoff a New England winter weekend.

Rich Ferri & The Wealth On The Water

Rich Ferri & The Wealth On The Water started the night with Rich's emphatic songs coming from his guitar and heartfelt voice. "The Long Way Back", "Parallel Lines", "Last One Out Of This Town", "Salt Of The Earth", "He, The Greatest Deceiver", "Pay Up" and "Good Old Fashioned Greed" had the audience clapping along to the songs and enjoying every minute of it. Rich and his band will be putting out an EP tentatively titled The Trouble With Truth that should be released within the next few months, definitely something to look forward to from one of the best up and coming musicians in The Ocean State.

Art Decade

A humungous indie-rock nonet music ensemble from Boston featuring three guitarists, a string quartet, a drummer, a bassist and a keyboard, Art Decade filled up the stage to the gills. Reminding me of Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire, Art Decade's orchestral excellence really caught my eye. "Walking", "Numberless". "Won't Break Down", "No One's Waiting", "Western Sunrise" and "Raspberry Universe" had infectious hooks and resonated pure bliss. Art Decade has an album called Western Sunrise currently available, an album that everybody including myself should get their hands on.

Bored With Four

Bored With Four featuring Nick Sollecito on bass, Alex Chapman on drums and Andrew Brown on keyboards an vocals serenaded the crowd with their soulful r&b tunes. "Kung Fu", "Hey Bird", "Powerless Together", "Another Holiday", "Thank You" and "Asterisk" highlighted an awesome performance that brought the groove and had the audience roaring with applause. Bored With Four has a brand new EP called We Are Friends* that's available on their bandcamp page, music that any fan of soul, jazz and r&b will enjoy.

The Sugar Honey Iced Tea

Last up were the sweet folk sounds of The Sugar Honey Iced Tea in front of a near packed house. Kicking it off with the a cappella "I Can't Stop Wanting You" then into "Middle Man", "China Shop", "Sister Stay Away", "Willow Road", "The Dino Song" and "Hula Hoop Girl" had people shaking their hips and dancing like a bunch of fools. The Sugar Honey Iced Tea will be going on tour in the spring, so keep your eyes peeled to see when these girls will be hitting your favorite music venue. A magnificent night at the legendary performance space at AS220, check out their calendar on their website at AS220.org to see what's going on at Providence's cultural hotspot.

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