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The
Goodwill & Bayside I should have known from the plethora of scenesters staking out the front of the club that something was either over or in flux. This show was Bayside's record release party of their debut on Victory Sirens & Condolences for the Long Island area. Though the Downtown's website said doors were at 5.30, with three opening bands, I couldn't believe that Bayside would have played already when we arrived. I was deadly wrong on this account as the final band, the Goodwill, was setting up circa 9. The information I got from this bartender I know said Bayside rocked and also the show was being somewhat hurried so the club's staff could go party elsewhere. If nothing else, the post-Bayside rocking atmosphere was genial. As such the only band I caught was the Goodwill - also from Long Island. Their record on Negative Progression last year (That Was a Moment) was fairly memorable, so the songs were easily recognizable without any effort. The Goodwill recently added a replacement guitarist to the family and conveniently the guitar work was probably the best part of the set. Following the standard emo-punk progressions and sounds, the guitarists added rhythmic solos and accents nicely. However, probably the most impressionable part of the set was lead singer Brian Barbuto's vocals. Several songs into the set Barbuto informed the crowd what accounted for why he so off - the reason being a plethora of alcohol. But from that moment on he seemed to pull it together and keep closer in tune. Barbuto was helped by a couple of songs where all members (or close to all) were singing - including a new song that by far and away smoked the album tracks. What I learned from the Goodwill - and I felt this way about their record - is that they have the potential for big things but aren't quite there yet.
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