New Music From Thee Idea Men (and More Coming!).

Text and image by Christopher Malo.

Lat night, on the cusp of summer solstice, the guys from Thee Idea Men hung out in front of Boot & Saddle before their set, smoking cigarettes and talking as the sun still shines before their 8:30 p.m. stage time. The day before, WXPN premiered the four-piece band’s new single “Think About It,” produced by The Lawsuits‘ Joe Bisirri.

This morning, that single, from an album to be released later in the year, was officially released. But not before Matthew Jurasek, Tyler March, Kris Pirnat and Matt Raspanti slide inside to deliver their blues-infused rock/rock-infused blues sound to all the fans who came out on a Thursday night as the band opened for The Lonely Biscuits. .

Three guitars and a drum kit filled the stage. The uptempo rock drenched the atmosphere. The band blasted their way through the set of eight songs that showed off their versatility and chops in both the handling of their instruments as well as the understanding of great rock music. Signature riffs and transitions were found throughout songs that showed off the foundations of the genre(s) but never came across as inauthentic.

Blending an always energetic performance with guitarist Jurasek’s small talk between songs, fans witnessed showmanship without a contrived feeling of the band being “showy.” More reserved but far from invisible, guitarist Raspanti took the vocal reigns during “Natural Gravitation.” March kept time on the drum set and notably, they could not entrust bassist Pirnat on any vocals because he was the only one on stage without a mic.

To turn around at the end of each song is to find more people in the room than when the song began. The band made its way through cuts like “After Dark” and “She’s Got The Wand” from 2012’s Getcho Groo Von along with “Help Me Mama,” “I Know By Now” and “Shake It” off the follow-up New Level Shoes. A scan of the room revealed a crowd that nodded their heads and tapped their feet to the rhythm not out of polite obligation, but because the music is that damn good.

As Thee Idea Men’s set wrapped up with “Burglar Hats” and the sun finally dipped from the sky, the performance ended but things were far from over. Bisirri is working with the band on the new EP, which the group hopes to finish recording by the end of summer.

But between now and then you can catch them at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park on June 20 or back in Philly at Milkboy on July 15.