Last Saturday night, the sixth annual Grapes & Friends XMAS Extravaganza took place at the Hole in the Wall, filling the joint with enough ugly sweaters, tinsel, and Christmas covers to get you well into the new year. Not one, but TWO Santas were there! Christmas movie projections, fake snow, holiday themed drinks, and songbooks rounded out the festive event, leaving everyone a little mistletoed by the end of the evening. Grapes & Friends performed two spectacular sets with all the classic hits and a few stellar originals. “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” the Mariah Carey standard was an obvious standout at this year’s blowout. The audience 
hardly needed the distributed songbooks to sing along to the mega-XMAS jam, arms on each others shoulders, yelling into the fake snow as it rained down on rosy cheeks. “Santa Baby” was another stand-out, as the band took the mood to a mellower place, albeit a bit naughty. One of the four frontmen, Ethan Galis, rose to this challenge and crooned along to the Eartha Kitt hit Christmastime song about platinum mines and yachts. The band was tight (enough) throughout the show with slick jazzy keyboard riffing from Charlie Magnone and modest drumming from Cullen Faulk, who had to stay at the back of stage behind all of the commotion at the front, aside from a quick drum solo.
Jack Frost made his annual appearance at the end of the first set, telling the Grapes & Friends that he “came all the way down here” to sign a new Christmas band. The group made their best attempt to impress the villain who shows up each year, determined to kill the Christmas spirit. The band played different genres from punk to disco to impress Frost, but ultimately had him booed and booted off the stage in hopes that this will be the last year he appears to ruin the Annual Grapes & Friends XMAS Extravaganza.
All photos © Lukas R. Truckenbrod & Pop Press International; all rights reserved. Click any image to open set in slideshow viewer.
