Biography

They took the stage, the duo, be-flanneled and hairy, singer and guitarist Omer Leibovitz's worn features circling, bird-like, in front of the microphone, while Layton Weedeman saddled up next to him, nestled by a drumset. Mercury Lounge's audience filtered in punctually. Though cold as shit and rainy outside, inside was warm and cozy with fans and friends savoring the raw flavor of blues-burnt rock.

You know them, you love them, because The Courtesy Tier are seasoned performers and musicians, and play together like a no-frills dynamic duo, neither member pushing for the prominent role. Pretty much constant playing is required by both for their rocking symbiosis - Omer provides the thrashy guitars and punk-blues vocals, and Layton the clicking, splashing foundation of drums and vocal harmonies. The vibe was all the more welcoming as the Courtesy Tier sounds pretty mature, because they don't treat the audience like idiots. They are comfortable presenting their own thing, fine with being themselves onstage, not relying on patronizing shock value or cutesy bullshit.

The set was songs on the short side, lyrics as honest and forthright as their instrumental playing: "I need a friend... I need a friend... I need a friend to show me how to live again." They capture simple, serious, important feelings that none of us pay particular attention to, and preserve them in concise songs that just get the point across. But they're not downers either, as each song has a Hendrix-like heaviness and an old school blues influence (often with unison guitar and vocal lines), played with smashing precision.

-Ross Edwards, Knocks From The Underground

Members

Omer Leibovitz
guitars / vocals

Layton Weedeman
drums / vocals

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