Downstairs in the Bearsville Theater, there’s a short corridor decorated in fitting fashion: framed album covers of all the Bearsville Records releases from the 1970s adorn the hallway. It recalls an era when Todd Rundgren was one of rock’s most in-demand producers and bands from all over the world were flocking to the state-of-the-art Bearsville Studio in Woodstock to make rock LPs full of tasty guitar riffs and hooky, harmonic choruses.
If The Lemon Twigs made their music in 1975 instead of 2025, it’s pretty easy to imagine that one of their records would have fit nicely with the Bearsville roster which boasted not only Rundgren’s solo projects but bands like Sparks, Foghat, and NRBQ.
In a blistering Friday night set that leaned heavily on material from their past two albums, Long Island natives and brothers, Brian and Michael D’Addario, (both still in their 20s) reminded the multi-generational audience that “real rock” can pay homage to the past while still feeling fresh and exciting.
Critics are generally quick to point out the obvious influences that the Twigs wear on their sleeve. There’s Beach Boys harmony, British Invasion guitar sound, Big Star shimmering choruses and lyrics of youth, and, at times, Brian’s incredible tenor can sound an awful lot like Paul Simon AND Paul McCartney at the same time, which you have to hear to believe. There’s also the well-documented childhood Beatles obsession and Brian’s Broadway resume (he was in Les Mis and Little Mermaid).
While I’d long enjoyed the band’s recorded output, I’d never seen the Twigs live, and I’m now convinced that even their very good records don’t do justice to the band’s superlative live show. You just can’t capture the style, guitar leaps, and sheer rock and rollness of Michael’s sneer on a Spotify playlist.
All this was instantly apparent when the band opened with “Golden Years”, their best song for my money. Brian’s 12-string Gibson jangle recalls the best things about bands like The Byrds or The Flamin’ Groovies, but it must be said that writing hooks as catchy as the ones the D’Addario boys are putting out there isn’t the stuff of Beatles tribute acts. The song also showcased the beauty of the band’s tasteful guitar interplay (Michael played a cool 6-string Rickenbacker) and skilled vocal harmonies.
These guys might play songs that sound like lost Nuggets-era garage rock gems from 1966 (“If You And I Are Not Wise”) or a mid-70s AOR chart-topper (“Anytime of Day”) but this songcraft is happening in the 2020s. They also might be analog dudes in a digital world, but maybe their music is exactly what our Tik Tok times call for. Certainly “What You Were Doing” sounds like a lost Alex Chilton track, but how many Big Star imitators have ever written a song that beautiful or pulled off a vocal performance like that? You can call it pastiche, but I just call it incredible power pop.
And now that these still-young guys have been at it for nearly a decade, they have the songs. In the Lemon Twigs 20-song set of nearly 90 minutes, there wasn’t a bad one in the bunch. The Twigs’ early albums were decidedly arty, experimental affairs, but 2023’s Everything Harmony and last year’s A Dream Is All We Know are filled start to finish with polished songcraft and catchy hooks. The same can be said for Brian D’Addario’s first solo full-length Till the Morning, released earlier this year.
On Friday, Brian performed two songs off of the record including “Flash in the Pan” which sounds a bit like a song sung by Paul Simon with George Harrison on guitar, arranged by The Left Banke. “This Summer” was reminiscent of Gene Clark’s solo work with a bit of Elliott Smith melancholy for good measure. I have a hunch that Brian has a pretty cool record collection and a bunch of other obscure influences that I’m missing here (they played a cover of “Come” by the obscure Dutch garage band The Toreros for goodness sake!). Little brother Michael writes some incredible stuff too – new song “You’re Still My Girl” was one of his best leads of the night and I look forward to hearing a studio version of that song in the near future (they told the crowd that the recording is done!).
This current incarnation of the touring Twigs is tight, rock-solid, and the rhythm section provides a flexible compliment to the brothers D’Addario. While the group is at its best when Reza Martin is beating the pulp out his drum set, he also sings, plays guitar, is incredibly tall, and has cool hair that makes him impossibly taller. Bassist/keyboardist Danny Ayala (who wore the self-aware “real rock” t-shirt) is the group’s secret weapon, though. His electric keyboard gives the band a 70s Fender Rhodes swagger and funk that otherwise might limit the band’s range. That the guys frequently switch instruments and vocal leads keeps the live show exciting as well.
The set ended in a crescendo with the glam shuffling of “Rock On (Over and Over)”, a song that would have fit perfectly on Rockpile’s lone record with its hybrid of 50s rock at punk speed. Things slowed down for a beautiful acoustic encore as only Brian took the stage with an acoustic guitar for the tender “When Winter Comes Around”. The rest of the band rejoined the elder D’Addario for a spot-on cover of The Rolling Stones “Mother’s Little Helper”. For my money, I’d rather watch the Twigs play it in a small club than see Mick and the boys play it in a cavernous arena. What a drag it is getting old. The night ended with the Brian Wilson-esque “How Can I Love Her More?” which left this writer with one question: Why debate The Beatles, Stones or Beach Boys when you can have all of them rolled up into one group called The Lemon Twigs?
Queens band Brower were a kindred opening act for the Twigs. The glam/power pop trio led by Nat Brower recalled masters of the genre like T. Rex and NY Dolls on tunes like “Hacksaw”, “Hard Road”, and “Door”. Brower’s riff rock (see the swaggering shuffle of “69th Road”) wouldn’t have been out of place in an opening slot for Johnny Thunders at Max’s Kansas City, but enough with the historical comparisons – fans of “real rock” should count their lucky stars that bands like Brower and The Lemon Twigs are bands of today, here to stay.
The Lemon Twigs – 6/6/2025 – Bearsville Theater, Woodstock
Setlist: My Golden Years, I’ve Got a Broken Heart, What You Were Doing, The One, In My Head, Church Bells, If You and I Are Not Wise, Flash in the Pan, Any Time of Day, I Wanna Prove to You, They Don’t Know How to Fall in Place, Foolin’ Around, Ghost Run Free, You’re Still My Girl, Come (The Torero’s cover), This Summer, Corner of My Eye, Rock On (Over and Over)
Encore: When Winter Comes Around (Brian D’Addario solo acoustic), Mother’s Little Helper (Rolling Stones cover), How Can I Love Her More?
