Have you ever gone to a concert and found yourself wondering from the second the band starts playing, “How in the actual f*ck are they not topping the charts right now?”

…No?

If not, go and get Palma Violets tickets RIGHT NOW. While you’re at it, go and grab some Guards tickets as well – I can promise you that you will NOT regret it.

I had the opportunity to see both of these bands this past Friday night as a part of the Downtown Music Festival in New York, AKA DTF (yes, really, quit giggling,) and it was a show that I won’t forget!

First up was “Guards,” a superb NYC-based four-piece band consisting of veteran indie rocker Richie James Follin (formerly of Willowz), along with Loren Ted Humphry, John Fredericks, and a personal new “girl-crush” of mine, the stunning Kaylie Church. From the second the Guards took the stage, I was completely blown away by their undeniable stage presence and tight timing. Follin enraptured the crowd with his skillful guitar playing (how he managed to play it on the cymbals of the drums is still beyond me), and hypnotic voice, while Kaylie, who could only be described as a psychedelic-indie-rock-Morticia-Adams, swayed constantly to the beat of the song, her legs serving as a metronome for the rest of the talented group. By the end of their relatively-short set, the Guards had successfully pumped-up the crowd, making them feel like they “Wanna Live Forever,” just in time for the headlining act, Palma Violets.

Palma Violets came onstage like a bolt of lightening. Their trippy, colorful lighting backdrop and Iron Butterfly-esque outfits immediately demanded the attention of everyone in the room. The UK-based psychedelic-punk band quickly cut through the notoriously hard-to-please Brooklyn concertgoers’ typical stone-faced-stare, with a pit forming in front of the stage in record time. Co-fronted by the eccentric Samuel Thomas Fryer and energetic Alexander “Chilli” Jesson, Palma Violets made jaws drop with their call-and-response audience interactions, stage diving insanity, and overall mastering of their instruments. “Chilli,” in particular, seemed excited to be performing, often wandering around the stage, and into the crowd, determined to get each and every attendee just as pumped-up as he was. It worked, and the audience was soon in an absolute frenzy, with a good half of them onstage with both of the bands during an impromptu joint performance at the end of the show.