We all have our stereotypes about different New York boroughs. The elite Manhattanites counter the hipsters from Brooklyn, while Queens conjures up family life and the Bronx, well, conjures up much different images. Needless to say these stereotypes are often squashed by a quick visit. So how should we judge Staten Islanders? Many of us got a taste of the tiny borough in Brooklyn Saturday night, as a few top-notch bands from Staten Island took over Galapagos. I came to the realization that the borough is far from what I pictured. In fact, Staten Islanders are a lot like us!

My favorite act from the night, which was put together by SI's premiere blogger Pop Tarts Suck Toasted and the AWE section of the Staten Island Advance, was local favorites The Heavenly Tenants . Fronted by the boy/girl vocals of Greg Swanson and Emily Taubler, the band creates a perfect combination of quirky indie rock that isn't derivative, or pretentious. What it is, as exemplified by Saturday night's show, is a whole lot of fun from start to finish, even in spite of technical difficulties. It was nice to see a girl rock out just as hard, if not harder than the boys. Combined with Rory Merola (Dead Rabbit) and Marissa Ciannella (Captain Ahab and the Sea Crackens) on drum and bass respectively, their live show is one not to be missed.

Lucky for you, the band has a bunch of shows coming up, in all boroughs. My suggestion? Take the (free) ferry to Staten Island to catch the band at Martini Red on May 23. You'll never notice you left Brooklyn.