Written by: Geoff Tischman

Moon Taxi, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, and Mainland helped celebrate the birthday beloved of 107.1 The Peak.

The three bands rang in the 14th year of the beloved New York radio station’s existence by playing inspired sets that thrilled the packed house at The Capitol Theatre.

The Nashville five piece Moon Taxi were fabulous–they played a number of songs from their latest album Let The Record Play and every track was a blistering blast of crunchy rock and roll.

I’ve been a fan of the Brooklyn-based outfit Mainland for a while now. Falling somewhere between Velvet Underground and Alvvays, the band was in fine form, storming through a set of scruffy garage rock and post-punk bliss.

I shot fourteen-year-old guitarist Brandon “Taz” Niederauer a few years ago when he was ten. The singer/guitarist may not be able to drive yet, but his worldwide reputation is driving traffic his way.  After appearing in the Tony Award-nominated Andrew Lloyd Webber Broadway production “School of Rock the Musical” at the Winter Garden Theatre, Niederauer pretty much blew up, playing with everyone from Warren Hayes to Derek Trucks.

Niederauer has so much charisma and musical chops, it’s hard not to imagine he’ll be ruling the world before he can vote. Playing with soul and verve, the young guitar player was absolutely dazzling.

Here are some of my favorite shots of the night.