The crew at ProductShop NYC put together a fine showcase featuring two of the big buzz bands at this year's CMJ, The Horrors and The Thermals. Pick ups to them for putting together a killer line-up.
Starting with The Horrors, they took to the stage for a performance that was one for the ages. The NME band of the moment have been everywhere this week in New York to spread the good gospel of goth-a-billy. If you don't know already, they are a band who are heavy into goth, black make-up, decadence, heavy guitar riffs, organs and general debauchery. Their shows in the U.K. have made headlines for their fights and destruction of property. Meanwhile, their sound is steeped in 50s rockabilly, 70s-80s goth rock and horror film imagery.
The London boys finally took the stage around 1:40am because their ancient roadie took 40 minutes to set-up. By the time they got in stage, the crowd had dwindled to about a 100 people. Heck, I wanted to see this band before they blow up and open for Panic! At the Disco or something.
The Horrors only played for 25 minutes. I knew going in that it would be a short, energetic set. In that time, lead singer Faris Badwan took out a light, tore down a curtain and warranted two security guards to take position on the stage. During "Sheena Was a Parasite" he jumped into the crowd and knocked around into people. No one was harmed.
Their flamboyant performance could easily splinter people into two secs: those who get it and enjoy it and those who get it and hate it. The band comes out fools around for five minutes playing a bunch of rubbish that gradually comes together to form "Jack the Ripper." I hear someone behind me yell, "Hey, try playing a song." I was laughing and smiling through most of the set. I think it's pretty damn entertaining. They are definitely tapping into that rock 'n' roll as a form of aggression, while staying true to their goth sensibilities.
Actually, I was pretty much laughing at their keyboard player, Spider Webb, who would stare down the crowd like a psycho killer. He would smear his mascara down his face then bag away on his keyboard like a puppet. At one point, he went for the microphone and screamed, "Thank you oh so very much, New York, ah hahahaha ahh ah" like a flamboyant 17th century gay count or something. He was like Amadeus meets the Cryptkeeper. I want to hire this guy for show and tell.
Life's too short to debate the validity of The Horrors. Just go, have a few laughs, rock out a bit and pay attention for flying objects hurled from the audience and to the audience.
The Thermals from Portland, OR will probably become a well-known indie rock band in a few months ... if not already. They've got the of good word-of-mouth that leads to big things, like being played on The OC or being featured in a Zach Braff movie. It's that sort of post-grunge, power pop that plays well with the college crowd. With their third album, they've perfected their sound and lead singer Hutch Harris has come into his own as a fine lead man with a knack of pulling off the catchy choruses.
Ra Ra Riot, BLAH! They played after The Thermals and sucked the life out of the room. They're like an idiot's version of Broken Social Scene. Me, Heart-on-a-stick and the Music Sluts spent most of the time making faces at each other. Their one of the band's who think they jamming away and adding string makes them organic, but it ends up sounding like a mess.
All the good times tonight were held at a new club called Studio B. It's like way the fuck out there in Brooklyn. It has one of those mentalities, the farther away it is, the more hip it becomes. It use to be a Polish nightclub that they want to become the next hipster hangout with a bad sound system. Whatever, in six months it will become another Don Hill's, a crack den for the Last Night's Party crowd. My prediction it will be closed in a year for either building violations or selling liquor to 10-year old girls. I did dig that they left the faux starry night ceiling over the bar, just like a limo.
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