2 Domestic 1 Import
Bldg 5
Baton Rouge
May 28
It doesn’t matter who you are: People love a punch card. You probably have one in your wallet right now for your favorite cafe or market. Or maybe you even hopped on the trend and made your own around New Year’s for your resolutions.
Sydney Lombardo, singer in Baton Rouge band 2 Domestic 1 Import, hands out punch cards to commemorate times that people come see the band perform. They started it this year as a fun thing to do for the friends and fans of the band. After 10 shows, you can trade the card in for a song request, which they’ll film, post and dedicate to you.
2 Domestic 1 Import is celebrating their 10th year as a band this month. Founding members Dustin Smith and Paolo Chirumbolo are still playing shows with regularity but they play with as many as seven. On the Wednesday evening after a rainstorm at BLDG 5, Smith and Lombardo took the stage as an acoustic duo. They played songs like “Harvest Moon,” “Cheek to Cheek” and “Send Me On My Way.”
Gentle harmonies, soft music 00 Smith and Lombardo set the perfect tune for date night or catching up with a friend. It’s not the kind of set I’ve seen them play before at venues like O’Hara's Irish Pub, but even with a quieter set, you can see the energy that seems to define the band.
For Smith, playing guitar looks like a whole body experience. It’s not just strumming, not just hitting some chords. It’s part of his breathing, and apparently he never wears shoes when he does it. He was barefoot on the (probably still damp) BLDG 5 patio bouncing around, tapping his foot and vibing to the beat. At one point when Chirumbolo came on the stage to join them for a song, he straddled some of their lights/sound system cables and leaned in to harmonize.
“I’m not going to comment on the weather,” Smith said from the stage. “Don’t want to jinx it.”
After their break between sets, it seems like he changed their mind, and they played a beautiful rendition of “Blue Skies” that’s been stuck in this reviewer’s mind ever since. Listening to any of the studio released tracks doesn’t scratch the itch. According to Lombardo, they try not to play music the way it’s written. They put their own spin on it. At the heart of 2 Domestic 1 Import is a group of friends having fun, playing their favorite music, and that joy is infectious.
