Rising Connecticut jam quartet Eggy celebrated a long-awaited homecoming on Saturday night with a performance at Fairfield, CT’s The Warehouse at FTC.

A longtime staple of the Connecticut music scene, Eggy had been poised for a breakout year in 2020. With a full year of tour dates on the calendar and slots at major festivals like The Peach and Mountain Jam on the books, guitarist/vocalist Jake Brownstein, bassist/vocalist Mike Goodman, keyboardist/vocalist Dani Battat, and drummer/vocalist Alex Bailey were set to bring their live show to new eyes and ears across the country.

Even when the pandemic put those big plans on hold, Eggy continued to work. Regular full-band livestreams from their home studio (affectionately known as the “Egg Crate”), the highly creative Choose Your Own Eggventure storytelling/webcast series, and inventive merch concepts helped keep the band busy and their dedicated fanbase expanding, but aside from a late-2020 gig with lespecial, the stage remained out of reach for Eggy until this weekend.

After a tour-opening show at Soundcheck Studios in Pembroke, MA on Friday night, the quartet arrived at FTC on Saturday for a “hometown” show. While the band has a long history at the venue complex, the socially distant setup pushed them from the smaller StageOne to the main Warehouse space for the first time as a headlining act. Eggy made the most of their Warehouse debut, using the quirks of the COVID-compliant format—and the pent-up energy of a year and a half without seeing their hometown fans—to their advantage to deliver an electrifying performance.

With pods of seats arranged sparsely around the cavernous space and masks enforced for all attendees throughout the show, the members of the band were the only people in the building with noses and mouths exposed. To mitigate any potential risk, FTC erected a clear acrylic barrier around the front and sides of the stage. The venue also enforced a “no set break” rule, ensuring one long set rather than the typical two.

The strangeness of the “caged” setup dissipated quickly as Eggy hit the stage and barreled into and extended, peaking “Upside Down” opener. After briefly ceding for applause—so loud it was easy to forget that the room was only partially full—the momentum continued into “Finding and Losing”. Battat took over lead vocals next for “One More Dance”, kicking off a thrilling run of tunes that featured the debut of a new song, “Second Step”, and a dynamic rendition of fan-favorite “Today and Tomorrow”.

Eggy – “Second Step” – 5/8/21

[Video: Eggy]

Drummer Alex Bailey took the reins from there on a the band’s first-ever live cover of Unknown Mortal Orchestra‘s “Necessary Evil”, which the quartet took out into deep waters before, somewhat peculiarly, abandoning their instruments and disappearing from view, a wash of “Bloops” reverberating through the PA to a puzzled but fixated audience.

Soon, Bailey made his way back to his seat and picked up the beat. Not long after, Goodman, Brownstein, and Battat strolled back into view and toward center stage, where their own reflections in the acrylic shields were visibly superimposed on their view of the crowd. With the shield providing a sort of aerobics studio mirror, the three proceeded to offer up a quasi-coordinated dance routine over the drum line.

The stunt hit home with the crowd, who gleefully egged on the silliness that had been so sorely missed these last fourteen(ish) months. “Cage match dance party” gave way to “bass clinic” as Goodman grabbed his axe and got to work over Bailey’s beat, followed soon after by Jake and Dani. Not a bad way to work in a “set break” without actually leaving the stage.

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The band now whole again, Eggy dove into a rendition of “Tiny Miracles” featuring the smooth sounds of Mr. Rufus Odom, a.k.a. Dani’s saxophone synth. Without skipping a beat, the “Tiny Miracles” jam found its way back into “Necessary Evil”. With “Last of Kin”, the band delved deeper into the musical shenanigans—a full-band tease of salty King George ditty “You’ll Be Back” from Hamilton here, a taste of Pink Floyd‘s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” there.

 

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By the time the band had moved into “Bloomlight” and on to a Goodman-sung Steve Miller Band “Rock’n Me” cover—complete with more Rufus Odom—it was like no time had been lost at all. An encore rendition of early Eggy favorite “Graceless” sealed the deal. Whatever momentum this young band had been riding before the world shut down has only intensified. The steam has been building for Eggy for years, and with their tour schedule beginning to fill up into the summer, we all get to bear witness to the proverbial release. Do yourself a favor and see this band.

Eggy’s spring tour continues this weekend with performances in Rochester, NY (5/14, sold out) and Saratoga Springs, NY (5/15, limited tickets remain). For more information, head to Eggy’s website here.

Check out a gallery of photos from the show below courtesy of photographer Chris Quinn.

Setlist: Eggy | The Warehouse at FTC | Fairfield, CT | 5/8/21

Set: Upside Down, Finding and Losing, One More Dance ¹ > Second Step ² > Today and Tomorrow, Necessary Evil ³ > Bloops ⁴ > Tiny Miracles ⁵ > Necessary Evil ⁶, Last of Kin ⁷ > Bloomlight > Rock’n Me ⁶ ⁸

Encore: Graceless

¹ Jean Pierre quotes (Miles Davis)
² Debut
³ Debut, Unknown Mortal Orchestra cover
⁴ Improv dance segment
⁵ Teacher’s Pet tease (School of Rock)
⁶ Featuring Rufus Odom on saxophone
⁷ You’ll Be Back tease (Hamilton) and Shine On You Crazy Diamond quotes (Pink Floyd)
⁸ Steve Miller Band Cover

Eggy Spring Tour 2021 Opening Weekend Recap Video

[Video: Eggy]