BOSTON, MA - May 29--The headline could say “Red Room Crowd Bests Passim,” or “Red Room Audience Matches Tucson Zeal,” but either way, one thing is certain. There’s a Red House Over Yonder for sure, so close and yet figuratively far, far away from Cambridge—locale of the long-established faithfully devoted fan base that Ryanhood has maintained in renowned venues such as Club Passim. Café 939’s Red Room, however, has just unseated Passim for pure audience zeal and passion, and it is with utmost pride that I steal the headline phrase from none other than the late Jimi Hendrix. And don’t ever forget: talent borrows, genius steals!

The Red Room audience was young, vociferous, and extraordinarily energetic. It was an edgy alternative rock crowd that craved volume, energy, and confidence by way of attitude, as personified by the highly talented act immediately preceding Ryanhood; Boston’s fast emerging new band Vivian Darkbloom—who were good, incidentally. Very good! On top of that, it was evident that many in this packed house were Vivian enthusiasts.

Ryanhood, time and again, has risen to the challenge of following exceptionally capable acts and topping their performances and audience reaction. It happened again at the Red Room. Some of Vivian’s fans left to be replaced by rabid Ryanhood devotees. However, many of Vivian’s crowd remained, and they were impressed with Ryanhood. Very impressed!

This Northeast mini-tour has been unique in one way; it has featured a full Ryanhood band. This is hardly an anomaly, since Ryanhood has performed on many occasions with an accompanying rhythm section. In the past, though, the rhythm section consisted of musicians Ryanhood have known and played with previously. Tonight’s show featured two young Berklee College of Music trained players—bassist Jamie Bishop and drummer Jordan Perlson—who commenced their rehearsals with Ryan and Cameron upon the latter’s arrival to the East Coast less than a week prior to this show.

The power, solidity, and sensibility of this unit was nothing less than absolutely astounding, given that this was just their second or third performance. They sounded as if they have played together for many years. This Ryanhood ensemble brought an almost acoustic-rock proto-metal aggression to supercharged versions of material from their masterful The World Awaits CD, along with a couple of older favorites. The performance was one of the tightest and note-perfect of Ryanhood’s career—without losing any of its heat or raw power. There were so many moments of searing strength and raw energy that it's hard to remember them all. Jamie and Jordan exited the stage, briefly, at mid-set, where Ryan and Cameron brought us all back to their standard world in harmony, intact with their sonic instrumental passages, which served as a musical anchor of sorts. The show ended, however, with the fire and fury with which it began that this writer has never witnessed before at a Ryanhood live concert. I was ecstatic by the experience! This is what Ryanhood was destined to become, and hopefully we’ll see more of the same in the future.

The musical storm began with an emotionally charged and energy-packed version of “Around the Sun.” “Helpless Hopeless” came next, presented more passionately than previously heard, making this song a true Ryanhood standard. At this point the show notched up three levels in intensity. If “Appy Jam” can be considered The World Awaits CD’s most charged performance, then this show’s rendition turned it into a throbbing Celtic musical call to arms—similar to the Dropkick Murphys in their streetpunk vein, but with acoustic as opposed to electric guitars.

Ryan calmed the waters a bit with his composition “Mature,” the band staying faithful to the dynamics of the song’s recorded version. “Alright,” however, approached levels of vitality not heard on the comparatively tame studio recording. “Gardens and the Graves,” up next, was able to mirror its full band personification as heard on Forward, Jamie and Jordan equaling the contributions of Ryan’s Iluminada-era bandmates Ryan Alfred and Aynsley Powell—no simple feat! Ryanhood were able to engage in genuine and effective audience sing-along participation. The audience sang the last two not-so-easy choruses in perfect tune and harmony and didn’t miss a word or beat. The only other audience that I've ever observed singing along as loudly and well was in their home base, Tucson.

Ryan and Cameron then proceeded with their standard duo format, which began with “Stopless” and concluded with a fantastic new song called “Second City.” "Second City" is different in its musical context from anything Ryanhood has performed to date. Elements of soul and R&B are evident in the musical mix, and they blend seamlessly with Ryanhood’s multiple musical potpourri, and hints at directions the band’s repertoire may lead to in the future.

Jamie and Jordan returned to the stage for an especially poignant “Born to Run to You” and spirited renditions of “The World Awaits” and “Okay.” The musical firestorm then revisited itself with a mega-forceful “Nothing But the Real Thing” and consumed itself with the show’s conclusion—“Welcome You Into My Head,” as never heard before, making the “Live at Fiestas 2006” version seem tame by comparison.

The crowd demanded an encore. Ryanhood was already past Red Room curfew. Nonetheless, the crowd persevered. Ryan and Cameron retook the stage as a duo, explaining that the full band hadn’t rehearsed any other material. “Ivy,” shouted multiple females in attendance. It was not to be. Ryan gave the audience two choices; “Sad and Hapiness” or “Can I Kiss You,” determined by applause meter. “Can I Kiss You” won. It was a good choice. “Ivy” is a great song. “Ivy,” though, was too sweet, too charming, and too romantic for this evening’s zeitgeist, and would have been out of place and context. “Can I Kiss You” contains much of the topical passion of “Ivy,” but with instrumental edge that was far more appropriate to end this torrential tornado of a Ryanhood performance as Ryanhood has never been heard before.