Emmet, Fans Ring in the New Year

Emmet Swimming w/ No Second Troy
Iota, Arlington, Virginia
New Year's Eve

photo: Todd Watts (rt.) and Erik Wenberg

Emmet Swimming played two long sets to a crowd of longtime and newer fans at Iota to ring in the New Year. A small club with great acoustics, Iota provided the perfect intimate setting to enjoy this seminal Washington-area rock band.

The quartet sounded tight as usual as they rolled through several albums of original material and a couple of songs from their most recent release, the EP Bathing in the New Economy. “Please Don’t Call Her” from that EP showcases guitarist Erik Wenberg’s sweet vocals. And, in “The Dance,” lead singer Todd Watts enjoys emphasizing the line, “thanks Epic Records,” a jab at the record label that carried a couple of their later albums before splitting off due to creative differences.

One good piece of creative advice from the label was adding a piano part to the song, “Motorway.” Generally, that part is omitted live for lack of a keyboardist, but that night the part was ably played by the band’s friend David Strickland, who also sat in on a couple of other tunes on accordion.

Three of the boys are original members: Watts, Wenberg, and drummer Tamer Eid. Bassist Scotty Brotemarkle was a longtime band friend before finally joining them. He throws every emotion behind playing and singing backing vocals, and remains endlessly entertaining to watch.

Something did seem strangely absent from their set that night. It was most curious that they didn’t play a single song from their debut album, Dark When the Snow Falls, notably “Hey Jesse” which has been a staple at their shows. But I am eternally happy to hear my favorites from their second album, Wake, including “Listen to the River,” “When Morning Comes,” and “Expect Me,” the latter of which was the first song they played in the new year.

Ringing in the new year with Emmet—a band I have loved and gone to see in concert since they began in the early 90s when I arrived in the area to begin college at Maryland—seemed not just appropriate, but the perfect thing to do as I reflect on recent years and look forward toward what I hope will be an exciting decade.