Last night I went to see
Aloud play at Mercury Lounge. I first saw them at the
2007 CMJ festival and then they sent me
their album, so I've written about them a few times before. There were three bands on before Aloud, of which I only caught two.
The first band was
Cage the Elephant. They were... what's the word I'm looking for...? Spazz-tastic. They were a noisy dance-rock band with an attitude and a lot of energy. Lead singer Matt Shultz and his brother Brad Shultz on guitar were quite rowdy - constantly moving and thrashing. More than once, equipment got knocked over. And Matt Shultz was performing with such intensity that his face turned very read at a few points and I legitimately worried that he was going to pass out or something. To my amusement, everybody in the band seemed to be constantly moving (though perhaps with slightly less crazed fervor than the Shultz brothers) except for bass player Daniel Tichenor, who remained practically motionless, even when the other band members ran into/were shoved into him. The Shultz brothers both spent a fair amount of time on floor with the audience, trying to start their own little mosh-pit for two it seemed. While I generally don't go for the whole rowdy rock star thing, I have to give them credit for the amount of energy they sustained throughout the show when they weren't getting anything from the audience whatsoever. The audience stayed at least 6 or 7 feet away from the stage and was in general unresponsive throughout the whole show. At one point, Matt Shultz came out into the audience to try to engage people more, but because of the microphone cord he couldn't quite get close enough and so he said to the audience "you're lucky I'm on a leash." It wasn't that the audience didn't like them, because after their set I heard almost entirely positive things from people. The audience was just lacking energy to show their enthusiasm I guess.
The second band, Eldridge Rodriquez, was rather disappointing after that high-energy performance from Cage the Elephant. They were very laid back. Too laid back to follow CTE. I got bored very quickly and so I went and got pizza, thus missing the third band completely.
Maybe it's because I was hanging out with some of the band members beforehand (see picture right), but I liked Aloud even more than I remember from their CMJ show. They brought the energy back up and they had some friends in the audience, so the audience was a lot more responsive (like I always say, the audience can make or break a show). As before, they played a great rock set. They played some of my favorites from their album, "Leave Your Light On," including
Beaches,
Can You Hear Me Now? and
All I Can Do. They also played a few new songs from their up-coming album which is due out March-ish if I heard correctly. They have a great chemistry on stage, and seem to get along well. Jen de la Osa continues to blow me away with her powerful voice. I really wish I could sing as well as she does. And the whole group just seems like a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, the lighting at Mercury Lounge was particularly abominable, so I couldn't really get any decent pictures. There was literally weak spotlight pointed at the center of the stage and some colored back lights. Off stage on the left side where there was miscellaneous equipment being stored was better lit than the stage. But here's a few of Aloud (I even resorted to using flash at one point *shudder*). I didn't even try with Cage the Elephant because they were moving around too much and they spent so much time off the stage and out of the light.
This past Friday night was the album release party for this year's "it" band The Antlers. I can't remember the last time I've gotten that sweaty and gross at a show - I don't know if something was wrong with Mercury Lounge's AC or what... But it was stifling hot, even before it got uber crowded. Other than getting soaked in the sweat of many other people besides just myself, it was a great show.
The Antlers played all the songs from their album, Hospice, which is what the concert was celebrating as it was re-released in its new new remastered form with a label behind it. I have to say they were a lot more engaging than when I saw them the last time. It almost seemed as if they had adapted their music for the stage a bit, as it was a little more rock 'n' roll, a little less wall-of-sound. Don't get me wrong, I love their album just the way it is, but I really thought the way they performed it Friday night was a good adaptation in terms of performing on stage. It allowed them to have a little more energy and throw themselves into the performance more. It also seems like the sudden onslaught of indie fame hasn't gone to their heads, as they seemed exceptionally grateful to be on stage in front of such a packed audience.
I managed to catch Brooklyn band Via Audio, who went on before SSLYBY and who - it turns out - I absolutely love. I had heard a song or two of their's before but had never really paid attention (so much music, so little time, you know?). Well from now on I will listen more closely. Via Audio was spectacular. They were high energy, fun, silly, serious, sultry, jazzy, spunky, and so much more all in one show - sometimes all at the same time. I was dancing my heart out, which is exactly what I needed after a very long (not to mention boring) day at work. They're a large band too - guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, and two guys who switched between sax, clarinet and flute between the two of them. They play a variety of styles, which I always appreciate. I would even go so far as to say that this band is one of my new favorites.
SSLYBY was great as well, though I can't say they had quite as much energy as Via Audio. Actually, when the bass player from Via Audio came and played cowbell for them for a few songs, their energy increased a great deal. It was really neat to watch. But they were wonderful and I enjoyed them very much (and they were still very high energy too). They had one super fan in the audience who brought a Springfield board game (they're from Springfield, Missouri) and a Boris Yeltsin book. I think my favorite song was one that the drummer said was about Missouri but had never been recorded. About 3/4 of the way through the set, the band switched it up - the lead singer played the bass, the bass player played the drums and the drummer took over the guitar/lead singer position. I always like seeing people switch instruments - it shows they're multi-talented.
Despite having recently contracted the plague, I headed out to Mercury Lounge Thursday night to see Locksley. They were the first to play, which I have to say surprises me because the last time I saw them it seemed like they had just as many fans in the audience as The Bravery did. Plus I had never heard of any of the other bands playing that night. But seeing as I'm sick as a dog, I guess I was glad they were up first. And while I wanted to stay for the other bands, I just didn't have the energy. One of the other bands canceled anyway.
Thursday night was Locksley's first performance with new bass player Jordan Laz-Hirsch (see left), who is the younger brother of lead singer Jesse Laz-Hirsch. Aaawwww... I thought he was very cute until his older brother announced that he was jail bate (and apparently skipping school to perform with them?), which I'm guessing Jordan didn't appreciate too much, haha. While Jordan seemed a little nervous - it was his first performance with them after all - he fit well with the band and he did a good job. There were some very adorable brotherly love moments and Jesse seemed really happy to have his little brother on stage with him.
In fact, everyone seemed pretty happy just to be up on stage performing. This was Locksley's first performance in about four months. I guess they've been busy finding a new bass player and working on new songs. They played some new material from an album that should come out later this year, after they tour the US this spring/summer as the opener for Rooney (I believe they mentioned something about a show in New York in early June). The new stuff sounded great and I'm very excited for that album to come out.
One other thing I noticed was that it seemed like Jesse Laz-Hirsch and Kai Kennedy (lead guitar - left) were occasionally switching roles a bit. Kai - who sadly was not wearing the white patent leather shoes that he wore at both of the other performances I've been to - sang lead on a few songs, which was cool because I have a massive crush on him. And it's just nice to see bands where everyone gets to share the spotlight. Even drummer Sam Bair got to enjoy the spotlight a bit being front and center on Mercury Lounge's small stage. I was glad to actually be able to see him for once because at a lot of shows the drummer gets shoved way back on the stage, out of the light.
Drummer Sam Bair
Brotherly love... aaawwww...
Lead Guitar player Kai Kennedy
Maybe it's because I was hanging out with some of the band members beforehand (see picture right), but I liked Aloud even more than I remember from their CMJ show. They brought the energy back up and they had some friends in the audience, so the audience was a lot more responsive (like I always say, the audience can make or break a show). As before, they played a great rock set. They played some of my favorites from their album, "Leave Your Light On," including Beaches, Can You Hear Me Now? and All I Can Do. They also played a few new songs from their up-coming album which is due out March-ish if I heard correctly. They have a great chemistry on stage, and seem to get along well. Jen de la Osa continues to blow me away with her powerful voice. I really wish I could sing as well as she does. And the whole group just seems like a lot of fun.
