Live Review: The Cribs at Music Hall of Williamsburg [03.21.08]

The Music Hall of Williamsburg was packed on Thursday night. People came from all over to see The Cribs show – lots of fans from the UK, judging by the accents, and even up-and-coming artist Kate Nash was dancing in the audience to show her support. For those of you losers who don’t know who The Cribs are yet: they are the Jarman brothers from Yorkshire – twins Ryan (vox) and Gary (bass), and brother Ross (beats). Certainly considered part of the UK Invasion (that never seems to stop), they’ve been playing and recording music since the early ‘00s and have been on the Loose Record lists since their first US tour back in ’04. The Cribs have several releases out, including three full-length albums, The Cribs (Wichita, 2005), The New Fellas (Wichita, 2005), and the latest, Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever (V2, 2007). They play infectious and energetic indie pop music along the lines of the early Strokes or Futureheads.



So the crowd at Thursday’s concert was a bit on the young side, but that turned out to be a great asset to the show because the kids put a lot of energy into it - crowdsurfing and dancing their hearts out. As always, The Cribs put on a phenomenal and energetic display, especially considering they had been in Austin at SXSW the weekend before. The boys were as hipsterly adorable as ever, with Ryan dressed in tight gray pants and a uniquely shaped gray-and-white striped v-neck top; Gary in a short-sleeved print t-shirt and matching pants; and the requisite indie rocker Vans.

The band started off by launching into “Don’t You Wanna Be Relevant?” and the crowd showed its support by launching people into the air in the first act of stage-diving I have seen occur during a band’s first song. The mayhem continued with “Our Bovine Public,” with its bouncy rhythms, pop guitar melodies, and the band’s trademark singalong lyrics. As the crowdsurfers were discouraged from actually jumping off the stage the boys in the band just kept playing, obviously enjoying themselves as much as anyone in the audience.



Following the crowd-pleasing openers, The Cribs settled into a more easygoing energy level with “Girls Like Mystery” and “Moving Pictures” (one of my personal favorite songs), and the gentle melody of “I’ve Tried Everything.” For the most part the songs were familiar favorites from their newest album, but they got a couple of songs in there from their earlier albums, too. Following the mellower songs in the middle, The Cribs played “Women’s/Men’s Needs,” and the high-energy hit “Mirror Kissers,” filled with the band’s trademark “Wo-oh!”s and getting everyone dancing and singing along again.



At the end of the night, The Cribs finished their set with the bittersweet “Ancient History,” during which Ryan actually jumped off the stage for some surfing of his own and had to be tethered back from the crowd by a slightly terrified stagehand who grabbed onto his sneakers. (This same stagehand was seen earlier running around the stage trying not to get hit in the head as the boys swung their guitars and mic stands around.) In any case, it was a very high-energy set that was eventually closed out with a beautiful rendition of “Be Safe,” with poetry read by a friend of the band’s.



In the end, The Cribs are one of my favorite bands to see live. They always put on an explosive performance that elicits just as much energy from the audience, which is a refreshing change from the shows where people just stand and stare. If given the opportunity, you should definitely check them out - the Cribs can be seen in a city near you sometime soon!

[Photos by Max Flatow]

Live Review: Pela at Music Hall of Williamsburg [02.27.08]

The Brooklyn band, Pela, has gotten a lot of acclaim over the past year not least because their debut full-length album, Anytown Graffiti (Great Society, 2007)is one of the best albums of the year. Their show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg was sold-out and Pela definitely lived up to my performance expectations. Vocalist Billy McCarthy was great and really brought out the local hometown crowd, playing it up and bantering with audience members.



As usual for the venue, the sound was amazing, and I managed to fit myself into the back corner up against the soundproofing on the walls. While this might not be a great position from which to listen to many bands, (I tried it with openers Apollo Sunshine but couldn't deal with the reverb) but for Pela it was perfect. Their songs definitely strike my heartstrings, so I enjoyed losing myself in the performance while also feeling the sound deep in my bones.



Pela played all of their hit songs, including crowd favorites "Waiting on the Stairs," "Drop Me Off," "Song Writes Itself," and "Trouble With River Cities." The band also set up their encore perfectly with the song "Tenement Teeth," which had the audience cheering for more. Finally, they closed the night with "Venom" and "Cavalry," two of their most anthemic and memorable songs. I guess the only complaints I have are that Pela is almost too perfect. It would be nice if they messed up and played something terrible for once, just to prove that they are human. At time they sound a bit like The National, which would not be a problem except that in my opinion, The National is a little precious, and Pela has a unique sound and should push that distinctiveness a bit further.


Aside from the show at the Music Hall it's my unfortunate duty to report that the rest of Pela's tour has been cancelled due to a mishap involving "Cavalry," a broken bottle, and Billy's hand at their show in Philly on Saturday night. For updates and more information, you can check out their website or myspace pages at:

www.pelamusic.com
www.myspace.com/pela

[Words by Anna Loosli]
[Photos by Elizabeth Weinberg]

Live Review: Blood on the Wall at Music Hall of Williamsburg [02.22.08]

This is what I want Blood on the Wall to be: a brother and sister, Brad and Courtney, playing music together with their friend, Miggy Littleton, a drummer. Eventually they come up with a bunch of songs in their practice space, they don't have the usual aspirations to take the indie rock scene by storm, they barely promote themselves, they could care less about Bonnaroo.

At first they're just playing around... reflecting everything they grew up on, their live original mix tape. Some of the songs eventually get released on a 7'", next thing they know they're opening for Sonic Youth. They tour the country and the pressure is on to record an even bigger record this time in the studio. This pretty much is the actual story.

But there's more to Blood on the Wall than just 90's low-fi references and Pixies comparisons though, they're playing with these conventions, the whole time seamlessly working their way through punk, and the genre-less 90's with nods to acts like the Dead Milkmen, or They Might Be Giants. Not that they can be compared musically, but they are in the same weird undefinable world all their own. Any number of influences are applied in a kind of self absorbed serious fun they jump between styles, surprising every track.

It was cold and rainy, but that was an improvement over the half foot of snow that made walking impossible that morning. The Music Hall of Williamsburg is unrecognizable as the former Northsix and I have no idea how this enormous balconied space could have existed before in this warehouse building. It's the same Bowery Ballroom configuration of walking downstairs to around the bar to go back upstairs and into the main space. I guess it works, but it's like some weird casino. The sound however is perfect, thanks to an out of control small apartment size mixer in the center of the floor.

Blood on the Wall opened with the first track from Awesomer, "Stoner Jam," which is a great example of how BOTW takes the standard conventional power chords and bass lines and twists it with a high hat burst that's interesting enough to be that cover song from a long lost band or b-side we never heard, but influenced everyone. I think they succeed because they're really familiar, the best version of a band you already know, all the half good indie bands with a few good tracks, all part of the same movement, compiled here on Awesomer, easily the greatest hits album. In the rest of the set they ran through most of all three of their albums, with little pause the rock being separated by drum stick count off's. Of course with 2 minute tracks it's all over ridiculously too quick.

"Let's all go to Enid's later," Brad laughed, pointing at someone in the front row, "that guys DJ-ing." Everyone laughed and I thought, "Did Brad just make my favorite brunch place uncool? What's wrong with me that I have a favorite brunch place?" I need to reevaluate.

Part of the familiarity is in the Kim Gordon/Kim Deal influence in Courtney's whispery low voice, inviting you to come closer, to turn it up for a second to catch the lyrics and then get bashed over the head on the next quick punk track sung in Brad's uncanny impression of Frank Black. The kind of track where you can't even start to understand the lyrics and it's under a minute and a half verse chorus verse, who can get away with that in a sincere way anymore?... and make me question my failed stereotyped life.

[Photo by Kid Swinging]

Live Review: Johnossi at the Music Hall of Williamsburg [10.26.07]

Johnossi is a band from Sweden with a minimalist title, and is made up of two men named John and Ossi. They are on tour with the Shout Out Louds and supporting the North American release of their first album, Johnossi (October 10, Control Group). I was running late for the show and all the rain on Friday night had slowed up the transit system, so I was pretty excited when I walked up to the Music Hall of Williamsburg and heard something similar to the early Misfits coming through the doorway. I thought it was just the bar music, but discovered that it was actually Johnossi.



These guys definitely don't sound like a fiendish punk band, though they play with enough energy to do the comparison justice. John plays an acoustic electric guitar and Ossi slams the drums. Their music seems to draw on a lot of different influences, and this is usually a good thing but it seemed a little inconsistent. A little bit rockabilly and a lot of classic anthemic rock, John and Ossi play loud, beat-driven pop melodies with lyrics bordering on the political side of romantic. Strange though that sounds, it's true.




In the end, it's difficult to pin Johnossi down. I enjoyed their live set, and the energy with which they played was a definite bonus, but am undecided about whether or not I actually like their music. Whatever the case, I'll probably be there the next time they play in New York, just because I want to see what they do next. Pop to the core, but not cheesy, these guys at least deserve another look. Check their website for the rest of their North American tour dates and locations.

(Thanks to Diana Wong for the photos!)

Preview: The Twilight Sad at The Music Hall of Williamsburg [Brooklyn, NY, 09.30.07]

Don't forget this show this Sunday at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. The Twilight Sad and The Big Sleep. The Twilight Sad could take some getting used to. They seem like a Scottish Walkmen at times but then I stop paying attention for a minute and they turn into a 'songs inspired by coldplay' band that doesn't own a piano. The jury is still out, it's going to be hard to get over that voice, but I can hear the good qualities... I appreciate their Mogwai length song buildups, but the real jem to see here is The Big Sleep.

How did they come up with 9 tracks of perfection on Son of the Tiger? Six months later, I'm still daily turning to this. With the number of new releases and myspace bands popping up daily screaming for attention, this is some kind of miracle. I hope this was on someone's top list for 2006, because it might just make 2007 too.

The real question is, what have they done to our rustic Northsix?
Here's a few guesses, the weird bleachers are gone, the bathroom/room is gone, and they moved the merch booth area. It's probably all painted, maybe there is a balcony? I don't know...jam people in, make it like everywhere else....why williamsburg why?

When will I quit bitching?

And that new name just makes me think whoever is playing there tickets are probably going to be too expensive. It's like Radio City Music Hall or Brooklyn Academy of Music...the names alone cost money. This show is $12 online or $14 at the door. Not too bad, but this place better not have an attendant in the bathroom or I'm moving.