Robbers steal the show

It's a strange experience when the members of your audience are twice your age, as Robbers on High Street found out when they opened for Fountains of Wayne at the Paradise Rock Club last Sunday night. The twenty-something band from New York City took the stage and showed everyone that you can never judge talent by age.

The band opened with "Love Underground," a modest hit included on both its latest album, Tree City, and the Wedding Crashers soundtrack. The danceable song set a few members in the audience swaying and toe-tapping but seemed to be lost on the older crowd. However, as the crowd lightened up, the band members clearly seemed to be enjoying themselves. Lead singer Ben Trokan's fancy footwork and occasional howl brought a youthful exuberance to the performance; his vocal style identical to that of Texas band Spoon's lead singer Britt Daniel. However, the lyrical wit and complex instrumentation (as in the funky swagger of "The Fatalist") set Robbers apart.

Robbers found its groove in the later songs of the set, such as "Across Your Knee," which began with interplay between the separate instruments before bursting into a melody that sounded like Brit-pop of the '60s. The harmony between Trokan and guitarist Steve Mercado was pitch perfect on the sophisticated club-hit in the making "Married Young."

However, it was the closing song, "Spanish Teeth," that left the distant crowd in Robbers on High Street's corner. Bassist Morgan King took on trumpet duty and filled out the already lush song, while Trokan poured every ounce of his energy into the last souring notes. The warmth and sincerity of the boys from Robbers on High Street was not lost on the crowd, who screamed and cheered even as the band left the stage.