Elliott Fullam, Joe Allocco, Screenager @ Mercury Lounge

by Kyle Ostrander | Feb 27, 2023

Elliott Fullam at Mercury Lounge (photo by Kyle Ostrander)

Last week, singer-songwriter Elliott Fullam brought his melodic and perfectly somber music to the stage at Mercury Lounge. Although it was a cold and rainy NYC night, there was an excited line of fans half-way down the block before doors opened. The musician was performing in celebration of his latest single “A Hopeful Ending,” which was released earlier this month via Kill Rock Stars (read FTA’s thoughts). Fullam kicked off the set with “Dolonia,” a cut off his debut album What’s Wrong, before jumping into the aforementioned single. He even included a few shout-outs during his set, saying “This next one is my Mom’s favorite song, so this one’s for her!” before performing “Half and Half” midway through his set (who doesn’t love a rockstar who takes care of their Mom? Answer, nobody!).

The audience also received a special treat when the musician performed the unreleased track “Falling Leaves,” which he noted was one of the first songs he ever wrote. “I know I’ve said this 8 million times already, but thank you all so much for the support” said Fullam near the end of his set, showing his genuine appreciation for his fans.

Kicking-off the night was a solo acoustic set from the NJ based Screenager. The singer’s 30-minute set included tracks from the band’s mostly unrecorded catalog, and even a cover of “Thinning” by Snail Mail. Screenager’s floating rhythms paired with lyrics about topics such as cyclobenzaprine set the sweetly melancholy tone for the night. “You should all be psyched you’re here tonight. The other acts on this bill are insanely talented and won’t be playing small venues for long!” commented the singer in-between songs. (I would personally also include Screenager in the list of bands you should catch in a small venue while you still can!)

Second on the bill was another NJ based musician, Joe Allocco. “I did the one thing I promised myself I wouldn’t do…I forgot to take my winter hat off before my set” joked the musician after his first song. Allocco’s acoustic instrumental set was filled with melodic and catchy guitar-based songs written almost entirely during the Covid lockdown. This included a song inspired by his friend trying to build a boat to sail the Passaic river, a song that Allocco himself jokingly called his “American Football-ish song…because this riff reminds me of that band,” and even an instrumental cover of the Misfits song “Hyrbid Moments,” which will be appearing on an upcoming WFMU covers album. Allocco’s set perfectly complemented the show’s energy, and had the crowded room engaged with every note.

Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kyle Ostrander)