Two nights in a row where the encore stretched to the point where it ceases to be an encore and becomes a second set. After pumping up the audience with an hour set, the crowd demanded more .. and it got it ... a lot more. I lost count at about six songs into the encore.
Just like Badly Drawn Boy, I've followed the career of the Walkmen -- have all the albums and appreciate their straight forward rock 'n' roll sound with my boy, Hamilton Leithauser, growling and crooning his way through alcohol-tinged vocals. BUT, I've never seen the Walkmen live. Tonight was as good as a time as ever.
Staying true to its form, the Walkmen's no-nonsense approach to music showed tonight -- no shifty antics, no yuk-yuk stage banter. Just pure uncluttered rock music. And they look stylish to boot. With those suits, they look like the Dave Clark Five. Hamilton means business up there. His voice cut through Bowery Ballroom on "Louisiana" like a chainsaw on a two pack a day habit.
Gotta make this post quick, so here are the pics.
L.A.'s The Broken West have been swinging through our parts a lot lately, and will do so multiple times in the upcoming months. They do tap into that early Wilco/Being There era with their Springsteen-tinged bar rock. They also remind me a lot of Ireland's La Rocca. The Broken West impressed me a lot, they're a fun band to listen to with their rocking acoustic guitars and everyday life lyrics. More on them later, they're opening up for The Long Winters next month, which I will be checking out.
Ferraby Lionheart -- wrap your head around that name. Caught two songs of his and he does have a sweet, pleasant tone. It's like Rufus Wainwright, but scruffier and less-coiffed. His last song had a fantastic old-timey, Oh Brother Where Art Thou? feeling.
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