Steve Kilbey

The Church is and has been a very good band for a very long time. At last Friday night’s intimate performance at The Egg, the Church quite simply rocked.

Gone are the support of major labels Warner Brothers and Arista. Even the post-”Starfish” Arista releases – numbering three – were an intentional move away from a simple follow-up to “Under the Milky Way,” the band’s lone Top 40 hit.

Peter Koppes

Marty Willson Piper and Tiare Helberg

The Church continues to write wonderful and sometimes difficult music distributed on a patchwork of independent international labels, the critically acclaimed album “Untitled #23″ being the latest.

Those of us who loyally follow the Church were rewarded with a performance that burned oh so brightly, interspersed with genuine good humor, prompting several mid-set standing ovations.

Full Disclosure: Steve Kilbey and I are friends, dating back to ’88 when I worked at Arista Records.

review and photographs by Matthew Mac Haffie

Tags: Albany, Mac Haffie, Matt, rock, The Church, The Egg