Crowd pleasers Middletown reunited after nearly two years hiatus for one night only at the Upper Room. Arriving late to the show, I was pleased to see a FULL house, and a Tad Armstrong solo set. Soon he was joined by Aaron Stroup and Stacia Demos for a set as the Refugees, a Tom Petty Tribute project. It was delightful to hear them nail one of my favorites, "You Got Lucky."

Soon the band shifted into another original set, with Stacia taking over with her haunting accordion. Many songs were from their album, including the title track "Welcome to the Family." The uplifting vocal harmonies mask the deep emotions behind the songwriting that cover familiar issues such as love lost and depression. There are also glimmers of hope in songs like "Red Eyed Angel" when Stacia croons "Dancing on the kitchen floor, burnt my biscuits, I think I'm in love." The group highlighted their vocal harmonizing by covering Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" and Bill Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine".

The majority of the standing room only crowd stuck around 'till the last note was played, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy this chance to see the reemergence of talented musicians. If ever there should be another reunion, I will be there and advise you not to miss it either. Until then, both Tad and Stacia have solo projects around town, and Tad can be found on the net at www.tadarmstrong.net.