Dawes Impress at First New Jersey Gig

California-based folk rockers Dawes performed to a packed room of enthusiastic concertgoers for a little more than an hour at Maxwell's Friday night. While crowd favorite "When My Time Comes" felt like a spiritual experience with fans screaming the lyrics word for word with their fists in the air, the remainder of their hour-long set was nothing short of energetic with minute long musical jams throughout.

With four part harmonies and solid musical features, Dawes' set impressed.  Their first performance in the Garden State, frontman Taylor Goldsmith seemed eager to come back.

"If this is our first show in New Jersey, I'd say we're off to a pretty good start," he said midway through their set. "Here's to the first of many."

Dawes kicked off the night with folk jam "To See How Far We've Come." Taylor alternated vocals with his brother, Griffin while keyboardist Alex Casnoff and bassist Wylie Gelber rounded out harmonies. Slower ballad "Bedside Manner" followed suit with an impressive guitar intro and Taylor's soothing vocals.

One of the band's tracks, "My Girl To Me," is about jealousy and denial. After Goldsmith forgot the opening lyrics to the song, he said, "This is the only song I forget the words to. It happened in Boston and I had to ask the fans at the show. Luckily, one girl knew the words." Much edgier than previous tracks, the song had a bluesy vibe with gritty guitar, funky keyboard and relentless percussion accompaniment.

The beautiful "Love Is All I Am" slowed down Dawes' set with emotion-filled lyrics. "If there were only two lines to describe this song, these would be them," Goldsmith told the crowd mid-song before he sang, "I need a graceful proud way to let go/To smile and accept the things that you don't know."

It was hard to tell which song fans liked best as the screams grew louder throughout the set. However, the closest contender was "When My Time Comes." Beer bottles were raised in the air as the first note began and Dawes even stopped playing mid-song so the crowd could be heard.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. You made us very happy guys," Goldsmith said before he began "Peace In the Valley." With powerful vocals and fitting musical accompaniment, the song struck a chord. As Dawes ended the track and said their goodbyes, concertgoers weren't ready to see them leave and screams reverberated throughout the venue for one more song.

The band ended their set with the upbeat "When You Call My Name" for excited fans. With such a well received performance, Dawes is sure to return to New Jersey soon.