Last Friday, our Christmas dreams really did come true. One of our favorite bands, The Music Tapes, stopped in New York for one of the last dates of their fourth annual Holiday Caroling Tour. Beginning in 2008, the Athens, Georgia-based musicians have celebrated the season by wandering up the East Coast, serenading fans in their homes. Having missed the tour three years in a row, we finally caught them playing at a friend’s house.
We didn’t expect much — Music Tapes main man Julian Koster and his singing saw, a few guys with other instruments, a couple of Christmas carols. But the band did a full-on, hour-long performance, mixing traditional music with original songs and Koster’s surreal tall tales. Although The Music Tapes’ famous 7-Foot-Tall Metronome didn’t make the journey, they did bring plenty of other delightful gadgets, including a light-up, singing plastic snowman and a chorus of mechanical mice. By the time the band finally left for their next gig of the evening, we were convinced of two things: The Music Tapes Holiday Caroling Tour is a spectacle everyone should witness at least once, and Julian Koster is the spirit of Christmas embodied. Watch one of the highlights from the show, the band’s “Freeing Song for Reindeer,” shot by Flavorpill Fix director Sean Ruch, after the jump.
The Music Tapes – Freeing Song for Reindeer (2011 Holiday Caroling Tour) from Sean Ruch on Vimeo.