Sean Barna and the Monogamists @ Black Cat - 10/4/2018
Sean Barna and the Monogamists at Black Cat (Photo by Mauricio Castro / @themauricio)
Sean Barna is one of DC's most compelling storytellers (though he sometimes spends his time in NYC - but we’re taking this one) who shines a light on underrepresented voices in society. His latest EP Cissy further solidifies that fact. Full of Springsteen-esque vignettes of life and heartbreaking losses, the EP also features a guest appearance from Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz on “Routines.”
At his Black Cat show, Barna played all of Cissy and more backed by his formidable band The Monogamists (featuring members of DC stalwarts Stronger Sex, The North Country, Paperhaus, and RDGLDGRN). Barna stood out on stage with a sparkling shawl and a fully-bloomed flower over his ear. His full-throated operatic voice soared above the wall of sound on “Danger Baby,” and on the sincere “Queer Mad Blues,” he went it alone fingerpicking on stage to a silent and attentive crowd.
Listening to Cissy once should pique anyone’s interest in Barna, but watching him bring the songs to life and the visible emotion he puts into it (and the emotional toll performing the songs seems to take) is a whole other experience. Simply put, we don’t deserve Sean Barna...but we’ll gladly take him as one of our own.
Sean Barna’s latest EP Cissy is available now. He will be playing Adam Duritz’s Underwater Sunshine Fest at the Bowery Electric in NYC on October 12-13.
