Cold Chocolate ~ 2025 May 8 ~ Wellfleet Preservation Hall ~ Wellfleet, MA Ethan Robbins (vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin); Ariel Bernstein (vocals, drums, banjo). Scroll to below videos for a review of the show. Videos Where I Go Pink Moon Review We learned about the history of this eclectic rock-folk-Americana band at the show today. They started out as a four-piece, more or less traditional bluegrass band, but evolved musically and personnel-wise, and they're down to a two man band that can play just about anything. Stellar harmonies, popular music arrangements that provide enough sound from a guitar and a set of drums, rip roaring good lead guitar from Ethan, well-written and wide-ranging originals, and unpredictable covers mostly from the '70s and '80s all leave this band hard to define. Ethan didn't take a solo on every song, but when he did, his playing brought out hoots and hollers from the audience. The final song, Paul Simon's "Late In the Evening," was knock-your-socks off good, highlighted not just by blistering rock guitar by Ethan, but by a major-league drum solo by Ariel. They started at the drums and acoustic guitar, and played a few originals and covers. Then Ariel picked up the banjo and Ethan the mandolin and they converged on the microphone at center stage for an acoustic mini-set. Then it was back to the drums and electric guitar. The covers they chose were favorites from their youth, mainly the '70s and '80s. They included "Everybody Plays the Fool" (The Main Ingredient, 1972) and "You Make My Dreams Come True" (Hall & Oates, 1980). These two musicians and singers have put out three albums of original material and one CD of all covers, which they were selling at the concert tonight. It looks like they were working to promote that CD since the show emphasized the covers. The cover CD is a thing of beauty, too; each CD is hand decorated by Ethan's two young children. We've been to the nonprofit Wellfleet Preservation Hall once before. It's a beautiful historic structure, restored in 2011, and very busy presenting concerts, theater, and community events. This concert was downstairs in a room more or less identical to the upstairs room where we recently saw Zoë Lewis. There's enough parking in a lot across the street and along the street in front of the venue. Folding chairs in front of an ample stage, refreshments for sale for a modest cost; helpful, enthusiastic staff.
Ariel and Ethan
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of the concert