The Lighter Exchange

Heading over to the Court St. entrance of Wall Street, I left my assistant at the Lodge backlot in hopes that I’d get in a little bit easier and in enough time to catch the tail end of Leslie’s set, but no - I had to stand in line w/ the rest of the crowd and therefore did not reach my goal.  At least I’d be early enough to sit down, jot some notes and wait for The Lighter Exchange to take the stage.

Ah, finally.  Christian Wilson has found the right combination of musicians and life experience to leave the days of Sill Naïve and his stint with Spacebar in the past.  The Lighter Exchange formed out of the truly organic experience of ups and downs that this industry can create for a musician in their personal and professional life, and what has come out of that rang through loud and clear during their performance.

He and James McMullan’s vocals came across in nearly flawless accord, and some of their songs exhibited catchy guitar riffs that echoed and resonated down the more popular avenue of 90’s grunge ballads.  That, along with Christian’s sincerity in songs like “Upside down” show a more vulnerable, matured man whose ability to express himself musically and lyrically has come full circle.

They had many fans in attendance that really knew every word like the back of their hands, and it put a smile on my face to see how cathartic it seemed for them to sing along.  Creating that kind of connection with a crowd is what makes rock n’ roll so much fun, and last night proved that these guys definitely know how to accomplish that.