Thanasi Kastritis

Croon and Swoon: Boyce Avenue

10/26/14 – House of Blues

It was like getting serenaded by three GQ models.

Brothers Alejandro, Fabian, and Daniel of Boyce Avenue—dressed in chic, urban apparel perfectly suited for Boston’s feel—exploded onto stage in a dynamic burst of energy, pumping out tracks like “I’ll Be the One” and “Speed Limit” from their newly released EP, No Limits.

Alejandro’s vocals were punctuated every now and then by the screams of an eager fan girl, who in turn was interrupted by an ecstatic young man who kept yelling, “Vai Alejandro! Vai Daniel! Ai Fabian!”

This Antonio Banderas look-alike had his arms wrapped around a woman in front of him, yet he looked more invested in the three brothers on stage. Eyes wide, hips in full swing, and saliva cascading down the corner of his mouth (or was it beer?), he could have been drunk, love drunk, or both. But can you blame him? They’re good looking and they can sing. Kudos to you, sir, for unabashedly expressing what everyone was thinking and feeling.

Alejandro took a step forward and spoke softly into the mic. “How many of you discovered us on YouTube?” he asked. The crowd roared, and all three brothers grinned. “Well, as you know, we are a big fan of covers, so we’re going to tone it down and go acoustic for a bit.” As the lights dimmed, Alejandro broke into a beautiful cover of “Because of You” by Ne-Yo.

A key moment of the night was when Alejandro took the stage by himself and sang a somber ballad that he wrote “for a close friend.” Clearing his throat, he picked away at his guitar with amazing precision, strumming and humming before breaking into “Broken Angel.” Immediately, half the audience members whipped out their phones and waved them back and forth to the beat of Alejandro’s singing. Couples embraced each other tightly; even the Antonio Banderas look-alike took time to acknowledge his lady. House of Blues was dancing to its very own soundtrack, courtesy of Alejandro’s soothing voice.

Kicking things back into high gear, Boyce Avenue switched from original material to more of their famous covers, including “Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars and “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon. The band seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as the crowd: Fabian gestured to individuals in the audience with a giant smile on his face, and Alejandro grinned at all the eager hands reaching toward him from across the photo pit. Daniel hopped on top of the bass drum, his back towards the audience, plucking away at his bass guitar and bobbing his head like a pigeon grooving to a funky beat.

To wrap up the performance, Daniel grabbed the mic and yelled, “Y’all have been so sexy tonight! We want to take a photo to remember you!” His words prompted an immediate tsunami of bodies pushing towards the front as everyone fought to make sure they would appear in the picture. Then, tossing their guitar picks and drumsticks into the crowd amid a swarm of outstretched hands, the three brothers took a final bow.