The Giraffes
05.07.05
Mercury Lounge (New York)
words: Tom Yaps
photos: Todd Kanca

The Giraffes and the Saints and Lovers could not have more different sounds, but somehow this bill worked perfectly last month at the Mercury Lounge. While the Saints and Lovers draw their crowd in with a huge sound of feedback-driven melodies, The Giraffes assault their fans with facial hair and Jack Daniel’s-inspired anthems. But despite their differences, two things cannot be denied: they both killed their sets at the Mercury Lounge, and both are lead by charismatic frontmen who exude star quality.

The Saints and Lovers went on first, walking onstage to a surprisingly small crowd (some of whom were sitting on the floor?!?) considering all of the NYC blogging hype. A three man outfit led by singer-guitarist Dennis Cahlo (ex-Realistics), Saints and Lovers demand attention from their very first chord. Wearing a stylish hat and back-lit by three sets of floodlights, Cahlo’s voice consumes the crowd from the first lyric. U2 comparisons are heard from all corners of the Merc, and Dennis’ voice is certainly of Bono caliber. But a more fitting comparison might be to Bends-era Radiohead, with their jagged guitar riffs cutting through the commanding vocals.

Highlights from the set were the big-enough-to-fill-an-arena "December" and "If You Want to Die", a song that needs to be heard at full blast on iPod headphones. The band then got somewhat experimental with a séance-inducing track that featured a repetitive timpani mallet drunmbeat and Dennis violently pounding at his keyboard. While this song was powerful, it didn’t quite work. Thankfully, the momentum of the set was quickly regained with the best song of the night, "Standing in a Row", which displayed the full vocal range of the hatted lead singer, as well as the talents of the lead guitarist and drummer. The general consensus is that Saints and Lovers deserve a label as soon as possible, something that seems likely with their upcoming release of a Joy Division cover for Stolen Transmission.

As the Giraffes took the stage after a quick changeover, it was amazing to see a crowd that had been sitting on the floor seamlessly morph into a wild, tattooed mob of Brooklynites. The lead singer, Aaron Lazar, looked over the raucous crowd while swilling from a pint of Jack Daniels. He stroked his handlebar mustache, passed the whiskey to the rest of the band, and proceeded to rip through a forty-five minute set that felt like it went by in less than ten. Lazar owned the crowd, taunting them to throw empty, ice-filled cups, and prompting a mass fist-pump with middle fingers outstretched.

The mutton-chopped, fu-manchued guitarist, Damien Paris, lurked and stomped around the stage with a frenzied energy, a perfect complement to Lazar’s menacing energy. If the band weren’t smiling at friends and obviously having such a great time, they would scare you to death. This was never truer than during the crowd pleaser “Having Fun with Assholes,” as Lazar tried to intimidate the audience with his verbal assault while trying to conceal his smile. The Giraffes followed that song with “You’re Going Out,” a fuck-you style anthem, and then a track with a sneering, condescending chorus of “La La La’s.” The standing-room-only Mercury Lounge crowd was totally consumed, bobbing up and down to the music and chanting along.

As the Giraffes poured into “Million Dollar Man,” I couldn’t help but think that this is the group that would have been formed if Blutoi and D-Day from “Animal House” had started a band. If the Giraffes were to play a house party, any house party, that house would inevitably wind up trashed. After a minor bass string mishap, the band closed with their rock anthem “I Wanna Tell You,” and left the stage to a torrent of shouts and beverage cups. The Giraffes were pure power and whiskey, and owned the Mercury Lounge that night.