Fantastic Cat
Live 3/10/26 City Winery NYC
On the first warm New York City day in literal months, the Westside of Manhattan was inundated with a fleet of joggers who all had to maneuver around the sold-out crowd entering WFUV's Marquee Event being held inside the gorgeous City Winery. Located on the Hudson River the venue played host on Tuesday evening March 10th to Fantastic Cat, the collection of singer-songwriters who craft catchy, pop leaning indie rock.
All four members of the band, Anthony D'Amato, Brian Dunne, Don DiLego, and Mike Montali grew up in the NYC area and mentioned from the stage that they loved listening to WFUV. Now the local radio station has become a fan of theirs, hosting the group on a few occasions as their songs have become listener favorites.
The band is set to release a new album in April (the completely originally titled Cat Out of Hell) and used this one hour set to showcase a few tunes from that upcoming record and other fan favorites. Their new single "Donnie Takes the Bus" kicked started the energetic set as the band bounced onstage with DiLego manning the drum kit and singing lead.
One fun aspect of the group is that they constantly trade instruments on stage and deliver witty banter as they set up. Dunne was sarcastically serious during a humorous play on Bruce Springsteen's introductions before the vocally shining "Later On" which rang out gloriously, while DiLego gave some background to the bands name before the set closing "So Glad You Made It", which had the full crowd up on their feet, clapping/singing along.
"The Hammer & The Nail" used jaunty, barroom inspired piano from touring piano player Mark Masefield before the band debuted a brand-new song "Elevator". The track, led by D'Amato, has a Bob Dylan meets the Violent Femmes folk rock energy as the group stretched out and jammed on the rollicking effort. The good time vibes stayed high for another new one, the pumping "Don't Let Go" while "C'mon Armageddon" had Dunne jumping around the stage ripping electric guitar lines gleefully.
The textured "Wild and Free" and the emotionally delivered "Fiona", were both more restrained and nuanced as the vocal harmonies of the band soared through the gorgeous venue. The best crowd response arrived during the joyful bounce of "Oh Man" as the energy overflowed the stage with a we-are-all-in-this together vibe.
Playing a festive set of engaging music for WFUV members and beyond, Fantastic Cat are clearly primed to take their new songs on the road this spring.
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