Rocket men

Anthony Ferraro deserves a mighty high-five for coming up with a band name so perfectly representative of the music he creates. His five-piece band, Astronauts, etc, specializes in the mellow, spaced-out pop that AIR has made a career producing. If you are looking for a soundtrack for your upcoming spacewalk, Astronauts, etc would be a great place to start.

The dimly lit back room of Seven Grand was a good setting for the band’s debut performance in San Diego. The space was a bit crowded since the show was both free and on a busy Friday night during Comic-Con. Luckily, even the randoms in attendance stopped chattering a couple songs in, as they were seemingly drawn into the hypnotic nature of the songs as well.

Ferraro’s keyboards and falsetto vocals seemed to anchor most of the songs, while some choice lead-guitar playing allowed most of the offerings to drift into a realm superior to your typical AM Gold. The majority of the songs were drawn from the band’s upcoming debut album, Mind Out Wandering, which will be released in September. Both “No Justice” and “I Know” from the upcoming LP were standouts on this evening.

The night ended with the boys covering Elton John classic “Rocket Man.” Their interpretation was interesting — instead of building the verses toward the exploding choruses of the original, the group gave it the Astronauts, etc makeover and played the entire song in the same gear.

• Concert: Astronauts, etc
• Venue: Seven Grand
• Date: July 10
• Seats: Floor