The night after Christmas most people were at home, lazing in front of a fireplace with sugar cookies and hot chocolate, admiring their accumulated loot from the previous day. Or they were hitting the bars, hoping to forget their family-filled weekend and drown their misery in drink.

But some of us began to celebrate a decidedly different holiday this December 25th; we were hanging out at Bowery Ballroom, where we joined other members of the tribe for what promised to be a rockin’ Jewltide celebration, with a ton of Hanukah gelt, boxes of jelly donuts, loads of cheery holiday spirit, and the night's main attraction, revolutionary rock band The LeeVees.

With just nine songs on their only release, Hanukah Rocks, The LeeVees haven’t got much in the way of a back catalog. But with over two million Jews in the tri-state area, they’ve sure got a lot of fans.

What began as a silly side project between two friends has developed into a minor cultural phenomenon. Joined by various other instrument-wielding LeeVees, Dave LeeVee and Adam LeeVee are the formidable brains behind the operation. Both have considerable indie-rock cred; Dave fronts the best hockey-rock band ever, The Zambonis, and Adam is one fourth of the poppy and popular band Guster.

On a tour bus one day, the two bonded over their shared religion and musical tastes, and realized their potential as a savior for Jews during holiday seasons - where songs of sleighs, bells and jolly fat men are plentiful, but there are scant Hanukah tunes to be found. And thus, to fix this sad injustice, The LeeVees were born. Like a holiday miracle itself, their record was written and composed in a mere eight days.

But back to that night. After forgettable opening acts and a social-justice tinged menorah lighting ceremony, all of Bowery Ballroom was eagerly awaiting their Hanukah heroes. Three jelly donuts later The LeeVees finally took the stage. When the applause died down, however, it became apparent that we were missing a certain LeeVee. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Adam could not attend.

It was then that I sighed and briefly questioned the need for my own presence. Adam was admittedly the main reason for my attendance that night. But being the thrifty and efficient (read: cheap) person (read: Jew) that I am, I recalled the $16 entrance fee and decided to stay put. I couldn’t leave the LeeVees!

There was a group of hard-core (and perhaps high school) fans pressed against the stage, but the remaining 250 fans spread themselves out, some dancing joyfully on the floor and others lounging on the balcony. The 550-capacity venue felt unusually empty, but The LeeVees’ rollicking holiday tunes tried hard to fill the spaces. The charismatic Dave LeeVee more than compensated for his partner’s absence, and proved to be the perfect front man, despite wearing some ridiculous Croc sandals. He quickly won our affections by distributing assorted holiday gifts, some of questionable taste, but all somehow appropriate; a packet of potato pancake mix got tossed to one in a cheering bunch, and a Tool DVD, which, last I looked, lay forlornly on the scuffed, wooden ballroom floor.

During the course of the evening, many cultural inside jokes were referenced, and I was momentarily taken back to my summers at Jewish day camp. Dave LeeVee must be commended for his flawless Jewish Mother imitation during a lively rendition of “At the Timeshare.” The energetic group got their most coordinated fans clapping during a spirited version of “Gelt Melts,” as Dave tossed the little, traditional, chocolate coins out into the crowd. Boxes of sugary, jelly filled donuts made their second round and not one person got sick - a minor, modern day miracle indeed.

Admitting the lack of depth to their song archive, The LeeVees pledged to have a beer with their fans in lieu of an encore. Stuffed with sugar and high on holiday spirit, we could only nod our heads and grin.