Although one would assume that an opening band would play before the featured band, Sleeping the Aviary likes to mix it up a little bit. They began playing around 1:30 a.m., after Ra Ra Riot had finished. While Sleeping in the Aviary rocked along with a dancing, head banging crowd, their performance would have been much better with a few changes.

The foursome started in 2004 with a different line up, but are currently Elliott Kozel (guitar/vocals), Michael Sienkowski (drums), Phil Mahlstadt (bass) and Celeste Heule (accordion). Together, they make up a mix of indie-rock-pop along with sad but creative lyrics, giving Sleeping in the Aviary an original and authentic feel.

The band played many songs off of their sophomore album Expensive Vomit in a Cheap Hotel. The words “Everybody’s different, everybody dies” overflowed with more yelling than singing but proved to be a song hard to stop singing to because of the captivating lyrics.

“Write On” also had the same effect with it’s fast paced sound, resulting in a mild mosh-pit.

Despite their awesome songs, the actual performance was slightly disappointing. The great songs were pushed to the background while the obnoxious crowd took the spotlight. Audience members were unbearable, throwing beer and alcohol up in the air and pushing everyone. Various people continuously joined the band on stage, and while it is very nice to know they are liked, no one came to see random people on stage, they came to see Sleeping in the Aviary on stage.

The band members were also at fault. Sleeping in the Aviary is of the destructive band variety, as they were throwing things and being generally reckless. Band members fell all over themselves and their equipment, looking like a drunken mess. The guitarist in particular found himself on top of the speakers, intentionally or unintentionally falling off and then tried to play upside down. The accordion was only present for a few songs, which was also disappointing due to the rarity of any band including an accordion.

Even though playing to a bunch of tired audience members during the wee hours of the morning may sound daunting, Sleeping in the Aviary was like a shot of caffeine. Despite a disappointing performance, Sleeping in the Aviary is sure to sell more albums due to a creative mix of accordion and guitars as well as original lyrics.