Burial, Parquet Courts, White Lung, and Iceage performed on April 20 at Lower Manhattan's Bowery Ballroom. I arrived late, missing the oddly-matched opening metal band due to transportation. Personally, I was there to see the indie-rock bands, anyway.
The room was packed by the time Parquet Courts was on stage, with a predominantly younger crowd. Everyone seemed to be wearing vintage shirts, cuffed jeans and boots. I was dressed for a hardcore show, which ended up being for nothing due to the very tame mosh going on... (more on that later).
On the recordings, Parquet Courts has a clean sound and relatively subdued vocals, but this was not the case with their live show. They sounded more like the faster Pixies songs, with more punk than garage influences showing. The band introduced a number of new ones, but I did not hear their hit single 'Stoned and Starving,' unless they already played it before I showed up.
Next up was White Lung, the much hyped Canadian band featuring vocalist Mish Way. Immediately noticeable was the fact that the band played tighter than the rest. Mish also has an incredible stage presence, moving with the music, addressing and gesturing to the crowd... bringing to mind an appealing riot grrl disposition. Also quite noteworthy was the ferocity with which the drummer played with... all while keeping perfect time. Check out my video footage of the second song they played "Bunny" off their latest and critically acclaimed LP, 'Sorry. '
iceage took some time to sound check before starting. This was probably a smart move. I noticed the drummer firing off some pretty cool licks as a warmup. For the few that might not know, iceage is a young band from Copenhagen that has received quite a lot of press over the past two years. They initially released an album of speed freak, noisy reverb-filtered rock that was good, but seemed similar to other records coming out at the time, like Wavves, No Age, or Japandroids.Their sophomore effort 'You're Nothing' has taken a more refined and dynamic approach to songwriting, and has pulled in darker, and deeper influences from post-punk to goth.
They opened their set with the single 'Ecstasy' from the new record. The drummer played a little off time for a bit and it was generally a little too sloppy. Unfortunately this was a bit telling of the band as a whole... they do still have some further tightening up to do despite their recent success and improvement. I don't mean for that statement to take anything away from the band. There's a charismatic and aloof aura that they exude, particularly the vocalist Elias Bender Ronnenfelt, which clearly had the audience captivated. His insouciant, untidy delivery bolstered his rockstar image. He sometimes appeared drunk or lethargic... I recall that the performance had me picturing what Jim Morrison or David Yow of the Jesus Lizard might have been like on stage when they were young.
At their best, one could hear the dizzying multiple layers of a particular song and become inspired to sing along and move. I go to hardcore shows most often, so it came off as a surprise to witness the overly tame mosh that went on, which was little more than a cross between timid slam-dancing and pogo-ing. There was no chance of spilling beer or your camera flying across the room, which to be honest, is a let-down! Even though I have gone into 'mosh-retirement' I like to feel the energy in the room in support for the band dialed up to 11.
The crowd, with myself included ultimately did seem very much absorbed watching the band. We were in awe as the band ended their set with an abrupt walk off the stage without a look back. I can only predict that they will continue to improve and innovate in the coming years, especially after surviving the dreaded 'sophomore slump.'
PICTURES:
Brooklyn Vegan also did a writeup and posted some fantastic photos from the night as well.
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