Rainer Maria at Saint Vitus
photo by Amanda Hatfield

Rainer Maria rang in the new year with 2 shows Saint Vitus (pics)

Like they did for their 2014 reunion show at Bowery Ballroom, Rainer Maria celebrated the new year in NYC, this time with a pair of BV presented shows at Saint Vitus on New Year’s Eve and Day. Since that initial 2014 reunion, their setlists have mixed old favorites (that the crowd was eager to sing along to) with a handful of new songs. The band remarked that they were happy to have merch for sale for the first time in a while – t-shirts and copies of the Polyvinyl Plays Polyvinyl compliation, where they cover Birthmark and are covered by Owen. Let’s hope a whole album of new Rainer Maria material will be coming soon to a merch table, too!

The New Year’s Eve show was opened by Baltimore-based Snail Mail, whose debut EP Habit is out now on Priests‘ label Sister Polygon Records. William and Kaia of Rainer Maria asked them to open after being impressed by one of their Silent Barn shows. They’ll be in NY again soon to open for Priests at Brooklyn Bazaar on 1/28. Pictures from that show are in the gallery above. Pics from New Year’s Day, opened by Olivia Neutron-John, are in the gallery below.

photos by Amanda Hatfield & Greg Cristman