Plug In Stereo electrifies intimate Funk 'N Waffles crowd

Trevor Dahl, lacking a female lead for one of his popular songs, “Oh Darling,” called on the audience to fill in for the bright, acoustic profession of teenage love.

Dahl, better known by the name of his solo act, Plug In Stereo, had the audience swooning and chiming in alongside his fingerpicked riffs. 

On the second day of a tour to promote its two-week old EP, The Patience, Plug In Stereo performed with The Scene Aesthetic and Romance on a Rocketship at Funk ‘N Waffles Friday evening. 

Photo: Brandon Weight

Romance on a Rocketship, the solo endeavor of musician Kasey Smith (center), performs at Funk 'N Waffles in Syracuse, N.Y. while on tour with Plug in Stereo and The Scene Aesthetic. The 24-year-old guitarist was first discovered on MySpace by the producer J.R. Rotem, known for his work with Rihanna, Sean Kingston and Iyaz.

Plug In Stereo opened its set with a track of the new EP, I Blame You, and had the crowd clapping along instantly. It would be hard for them not to; his charismatic performance and charming description of a girl who left him in love energized the mood. 

Opening act The Scene Aesthetic proved they still have a large following nearly seven years after forming in Seattle, Wash. Finishing with an acoustic rendition of their 2009 hit “Beauty in the Breakdown,” Andrew de Torres remarked that he could barely hear himself over the crowd singing.

Kasey Smith, head of his solo project Romance on a Rocketship, played an amped up rendition of LFO’s early-2000s hit “Summer Girls,” called “Winter Girls,” halfway into his set.

Alexander McQueen replaced Abercrombie & Fitch in his choice of preferred girls’ attire, and Smith transformed the song into less of a boy band sing-a-long and more of an alternative jam. <

The artists played an intimate show, where interactions between the crowd and bands were almost inevitable. While many of the bands have traveled on much larger tours (Plug In Stereo played at Bamboozle 2011 and The Scene Aesthetic toured with Owl City) they all connected easily with fans. Bands worked their respective merchandise tables, and stayed after the show to talk and take pictures with fans.

Connor Amsden, a 16-year-old Hammondsport, N.Y. resident, was one of many who approached the duo behind The Scene Aesthetic.

“I talked with Andrew and Eric before and after the show. They are such great, down to earth guys who genuinely love their fans,” Amsden said.