Indiana native and rock musician Carl Broemel performed Wednesday night with folk singer-songwriter Tyler Ramsey at the Bishop Bar.
People found it easy to settle into the leather seats and mingle with each other in the small, intimate setting of the Bishop. Broemel himself was spotted in the crowd before the show, sipping a drink and talking to any concertgoers brave enough to step up and shake his hand.
Broemel grew up in the north side of Indianapolis and went to Pike High School. After graduation, he attended the Jacobs School of Music before becoming a backup vocalist for the band “My Morning Jacket” in 2004.
When Ramsey and Broemel first stepped on stage, Broemel looked up into the stage lights and announced that it seemed like he was staring into a blackhole. He then proceeded to sing a song about black holes entitled “Dark Matter” from his recently-released album “Wished Out.”
For the set, each artist would play one song, sometimes two and then pass it off to the other to sing one of his songs. Both of them, however, were constantly playing or singing harmonies for the other.
During the show, Ramsey performed a few songs from his album “For the Morning,” which is set to release April 5.
This performance is a part of a short run of shows that began Feb. 19 in Lexington, Kentucky, and will end Feb. 26 in Cincinnati.
“We thought it would be a good idea to drive around in a car in February in the Midwest,” Broemel told the crowd.
The crowd laughed in response.
The duo had never directly performed together before the tour, but when they played together and shared their intimate music, the crowd responded with small sways and shouts of approval.
“I want to say thank you to Carl,” Ramsey said during the show.
He went on to explain that he and Broemel has never spent much time together, much less sit in a car for hours at a time, but that the tour had worked out better than they had imagined.
After one instrumental break, Ramsey turned to the audience and explained that he has always pictured playing with Broemel like this.
“That was the sound of my personal dreams come true,” Ramsey said.
One of the final songs the duo performed was Broemel’s song “4th of July.”
“Burning in the Indiana sun, driving aimlessly with coke and rum,” he sang. “I’m back at home.”
