Photo by Michael BennetThe Brazilian brothers Mattheus and Thiago Khouri brought the first US tour of their beat combo, Banda AL9, to Washington, DC’s Pie Shop on an unseasonably warm November evening, treating a small, but passionate crowd to an evening of energetic and immensely tuneful power pop. The band’s musical stew is made up of a drop of Merseybeat, a dollop of California sunshine, and bit of garage crunch, resulting in 100% classic power pop. The crowd sang along with the band’s quintessential brotherly harmonies as they blasted through their would’ve-been-a-hit-in-an-earlier era singles like “She Calls Me Love” and the Little Steven Van Zandt penned “Indigo Skye” from their American debut LP, Hey! Hey! We’re Banda AL9, and a little glammy rock and roll, while demonstrating their power pop bona fides on covers of the Rubinoos’ “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” and the fictional Wonders’ (Oneders) “That Thing You Do.” Putting the ala mode on top of the Cherry Pie sold at the venue, the band wrapped things up with a blistering “Johnny B. Goode” and a crowd sing-along to “She Calls Me Love.”
