Cary Brothers and Greg Laswell showcased their emotion-filled songs and onstage banter last night at Maxwell's while Harper Blynn provided a fitting backing band throughout each set. The first night of their summer tour on Tuesday was just a glimpse of what is to come. 

New York-based quartet Harper Blynn began the night with catchy beats and sing-along choruses. At times, the band's vocal harmonies brought to mind early Beatles and Beach Boys with their falsetto singing style and alternated vocalists. While most of their set included tracks off their debut album, Loneliest Generation, Harper Blynn wowed the crowd with a cover of Beyonce's "Halo." With J. Blynn nearing the edge of the stage as he sang, he captivated the audience. Their musicianship impressed, and "The Doubt," with light guitar accompaniment and ethereal vocals stood out most. Meanwhile, Harper Blynn ended their set with upbeat rock track "This Is It" while all in attendance clapped along.

Greg Laswell took the stage next with Harper Blynn as his backing band. The emotion-filled "Off I Go" kicked things off with Laswell on piano. His deep vocals, powerful piano and percussion accompaniment quickly silenced the packed room. Throughout his set, Laswell alternated between guitar and piano all while chatting with the audience.

"The video of this song is online where I had to learn how to sing the song backwards so it looked like I was singing it forward," he said before he performed "Take Everything." "But, I'll sing it for you forward tonight," he continued as he sang a few lines in reverse.

It sounded like an entirely different language and the crowd wanted to hear more.

"Sing it backwards!" one fan screamed.

"It'll end up on YouTube and I'll look like an asshole," he said. "This song is about finding out someone has been lying to you and you're like, 'Huh, really?' That moment." With soothing vocals and fitting musical features, the track impressed.

"Sometimes people ask me what's my favorite song of mine. I'm not a fan of myself necessarily, but if I was forced to pick one, I'd pick this," he said as he began "Comes and Goes (In Waves)." A slower ballad, Laswell played the song alone on acoustic guitar with light finger picking over the hushed crowd.

Next up was "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," a track of Laswell's featured in the film, "My Sister's Keeper." He told the audience that before he watched the movie, he thought it was a funny, romantic comedy.

"It is not. I don't know if you've seen it, but it's terrible. There is cancer all around. It's the director's way of saying 'Fuck you.' If you haven't seen it, please don't."

Laswell ended his set with "How the Day Sounds," a song he says is happier than some of his previous records. With soaring guitar and piano accompaniment the upbeat track had the audience dance along.

Cary Brothers closed the night with a 50-minute set combined with delicate piano-based ballads and more upbeat British influenced rock. Debuting many of the tracks off his latest album, Under Control, Brothers has a distinct British quality within his singing style.

"I'm originally from Nashville, but I hated country music and I always listened to British music," he said. "That's why when I sing I sound British."

Though he dislikes country, he said his song, "Blue Eyes," is the closest he came to writing a country song. Well known for being featured on the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack to the film "Garden State," the track was definitely a crowd favorite.

"Belong" followed suit with Brothers on piano. His soft, almost whispered vocals blended well with light piano. As the piano and musical accompaniment peaked, so did his vocals mid-song, proving a powerful transition.

Title track off his latest release, "Under Control" is a song about losing too much. A more upbeat sound than previous tracks, it was a solid shift within his set. However, it is Brothers' ballads that truly shine. The beautifully delicate "Honestly" demonstrated his prowess as a singer-songwriter while "Someday" embodied soaring vocals and solid guitar interludes.

While Brothers' strength consists in emotion-filled ballads, he showcased his passion for English rock with a solid Tears For Fears cover of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." He had the entire room singing and dancing along, an impressive feat for a Tuesday night concert.