Elvyn @ Silver Dollar

Brothers Joel and Ryan Beerman have been playing music together as Elvyn for just over 11 years now, and their professionalism and abilities have only increased during that time. Elvyn's mix of pure pop and alt-country is as catchy and accessible as it gets, filled with soaring harmonies and heartbreaking lyricism. If you've ever listened to either their 2002 release Ten Car Stereo or their 2004 EP The Big Bay, then you're likely scratching your head also as to why they've never had so much as a hit song, let alone nationwide success. Of course, with the overwhelming onslaught of music these days, I suppose this is just a product of the musical climate that we live in, and a band such as Elvyn has to settle for making an impression by playing as many gigs as they can and letting the buzz flow that way.

This is exactly what they did when they played The Silver Dollar on Friday night. Rounded out with Jason O'Reilly on bass and Jeremy Knibbs on rhythm guitar, the band played a set that was subdued but tight as their classic sounding tunes caused more than a couple of people to get up and dance. Besides playing a number of familiar ones, they also showcased a number of new songs that are slated to appear on an upcoming CD that should see the light of day in the near future. These new songs are impressive in that they see the band going for an even more polished sound while still keeping an intentional imperfection in tact, allowing the songs to maintain their human "heart on their sleeve" approach. In between songs, Joel the drummer would toss out the occasional quip, while in the rockier moments, Ryan and Jeremy would showcase a little dueling Gretsch action that was entertaining also.

Admittedly, the show did have a few things going against it. The weather was all kinds of bad (I'm pretty sure the monsoon-like conditions wrecked my umbrella,) and there were a lot of other shows taking place in the city too (as is usually the case on a Friday night.) Most noticeably, the sound guy didn't exactly bring his 'A' game this time around, missing cues and messing around with levels, and it was clear that this dampened the band's enthusiasm a little bit. Still, overall, the band handled these setbacks with professionalism, taking it all in stride which the same laid back attitude that is portrayed in the music they make.

Elvyn are playing a free show at The Horseshoe on Monday November 30th.

Photos: My shots of Elvyn @ Silver Dollar are on flickr
Myspace: Elvyn
Video: All Is Lost on youtube