all words: Aaron Baird
all photos: Shauna Alexander
checklist:
great record
huge amounts of hype
tragic/intriguing backstory
west coast heroin-chic
long hair
oh... and uh...
severely underwhelming live performance
yeah. that about does it.
the band (are they a band?) that performed as Girls the other night at the black cat fulfilled their own self-inflicted/serving mystique as a group of dudes who do a lot of drugs, hang out, and play music once in a while. yes, there are some caveats to be granted, but for the lack of those (huge) benefits of doubt, i came away from the show the least impressed i've been with a live band in some time. to the point where i don't have much sincere or empathetic insight, clever postmodern summation, or otherwise. harsh, but true.
yes, the mix was lacking. yes, they are having intergroup band drama (the guitarist was just asked to leave/left/ and the drummer will be replaced). they are looking for a new group of "like-minded" guys to share good times with or something. or maybe play music in an affecting way. one or the other. doesn't really matter. or at least that's how they make it seem.
this is the faux-nihilistic, sometimes-sincere, sometimes apathetic, i-only-want-to-make-music for me, but hey-we-love-you-and-want-you-to-have-this-gift-from-us, that i have no patience for. it reeks of non-effort. it makes me sad for them, not affected by them.
and for that reason i look to their item of permanence, and not the fleeting time i shared with them. makes it more about me, less about them.
i love the album Girls made. i love the recording. i love the sincerity. i love the contradictions. i love the things i hate about it. i love the things it makes me feel and think about and remember. i love Chris Owens' voice and the truly heartbreaking emotion so deeply ingrained in it.
i still think it's the best album of the year.
they've earned a chance to prove me wrong.
go see them... or don't.
addendum by Svetlana on Real Estate:
If I was to look for one word to describe Real Estate, that word would be "languid". "Beach Comber" was rolling out as I was walking up the stairs and the proceeding 45 minute set was like a warm blanket on a windy beach day: rolling psychedelia, washes of sonic sand, all bringing back fuzzy wuzzy memories of the summers past. It was really good. However, I could not shake the notion of how hard I wished it was August and not Novemeber, that we were all sitting around a bonfire instead of a bar and that there was absolutely no footwear involved in our lives ever. Their album is out next week-you should get it.
Previously in Live DC:
- 5/24: LiveDC: The Adicts @ RNR Hotel
- 5/24: LiveDC: The Donkeys @ Black Cat
- 5/23: LiveDC: The Barr Brothers w/ Kishi Bashi @ The Hamilton
- 5/23: LiveDC: Damien Jurado @ Black Cat
- 5/23: Report: Soundbites 2012
- 5/22: LiveDC: Spirit Animal @ Red Palace
- 5/22: LiveDC: Astra Via @ Black Cat
- 5/22: LiveDC: Father John Misty @ Rock & Roll Hotel
- 5/22: LiveDC: Drive-By Truckers and Lucinda Williams @ Merriweather
- 5/22: Photos: Summer Camp takes the "Ladies of Town" Drag Show
God loves a cheerful giver.
i was so excited for this. but "severely underwhelming live performance" could and should have been the beginning and the end of this review.
Couldn't agree more. This show was so weak it was painful to sit through... even with my camera in hand.
Not sure where you were but the mix sounded pretty good back by the sound board. Chris' vocal inflection took me back to the album (which I also loved) and the group I was with agreed that the songs that should have banged did (Lust for Life, Laura, Summertime, Ghost Mouth, Hellhole Ratrace.) The show picked up immensely once he dropped the acoustic and started to get louder and more confident, if not awkwardly in what one could expect from a band with little touring/performing pedigree outside of their opening slot for Los Campesinos! earlier. So perhaps it's lack of experience over lack of effort? The most underwhelming part for me was the crowd. I got the feeling that >half the audience was dragged to the show by the hype/their friends and were just completely unaware of most of the tunes outside of the set closing "Lust." Without having the chance to explore the album on your own headphones and connect with the raw emotion of it all, I could see the attention spans being sucked from the heads of those around me. Except for that chick twirling the whole time in front of me. It's up to their presence to draw the crowd in but really I just think the people catching up with their college or current roommates could have done it down in the Red Room instead of audibly hijacking the set anywhere past the first 30 feet. Definitely worth the 12-15 bucks and a Tuesday night.
@ Josh
agreed that the mix improved when I moved from the right side of the stage to the middle, and I think subsequent adjustments were continually made. not blaming the engineer, necessarily, but felt like I could never hear some of the lead guitar parts, and the snare/most of the drums were overpowering.
that being said, yes, the show picked up post-acoustic, but it was like you were at a local open mic. hardly a zealous performance. like I said, brand new guitarist, and the seemingly obvious interpersonal distance between the members was painful. I thought 'Morning Light' should have rocked harder than it did. I thought they should have played 'Big Bad Mean Motherfucker." But it wasn't the rawk inherent in those uptempo songs that would have overshadowed the downright "going-thru-the-motions" performance that was given. There was no connection with the music, themselves, and the crowd.
I don't blame them entirely, but it was far from an engaging show.
Some good points, Josh. I didn't go to the show, but what you said echoed what Erlend Oye mentioned in an interview he did with pitchfork:
"The latest band I've really liked was the xx. I just saw them live in Dublin. They were playing well, but I got annoyed by the people watching the concert-- all these people were talking. I guess they were attracted by the hype, but weren't interested in listening to the music. They just wanted to be there. I just thought, "This is how it is to be hyped, isn't it?" You know, when people come to your show just because they realize they should be there. They don't really want to listen to you. That was kind of awful; people who wanted to listen to it weren't able to, because people behind them were just talking."
dude. you can't be anti-hype. it's what exposes your music to people who may have never heard it otherwise.
there's something to be said about a band that is hyped, blows minds, and doesn't allow pleasant conversation to arise because they're too busy melting your face off.
Now I don't feel so bad for missing the show. Still: great pics, Shauna!
The only way I can get into a show at the Black Cat is if I'm up front and it's loud as hell or if it's one of those rare instances where the crowd is quiet and into it (Bon Iver last year was incredible for that reason). Otherwise the sound is often problematic and not loud enough to deal with a typically chatty crowd.
Still, sucks about Girls and makes me feel a little better about having to miss it.
i think you can be hyped and live up to it, it's just hard. not all bands are made to be successful, many are great artists who would be way happier doing everything on their terms. it takes ambition to live up to expectations. i'm in no way slagging the artists who have that ambition, but not all do, and that's ok too.
i like girls, but i have to say, i'm surprised they couldn't get it together. the old band (the one that played on that pitchfork show) was pretty basic, drums/bass/lead/rhythm kind of thing. i'd say that points (maybe, who knows) to them not particularly wanting this kind of attention, ie, the kind where you have to live up to something.
all that being said, let's also remember that Beck's first tour was freaking terrible, so you never know.
1. Fender Mustangs all day every day (so long as you lock the tremolo).
2. I agree w/aaron a "cool" backstory and a decadent lifestyle = great show.
3. The Girls album is tight. Who produced it?
4. If you want people to listen to you, turn up. Turn way up.
Girls reminded me of Soul Asylum.. in a bad way. Real Estate was great.
It should be taken into account that they just had a major lineup change and haven't been playing long with this new band. Cut them some slack. They don't owe you anything except to try their best you dickheads.
@ patrik
I did take the (one) lineup change into account: they changed out their guitarist. I mentioned, yes, there was more change to come which translated into awkwardness. that didn't make the show good. it was my purpose to judge the show that night, with that lineup.
i like this band a lot dipshit. i wish the show was better.
HEY, PATRIK, YOU'RE THE DICKHEAD, DICKHEAD!!!
shoulda woulda coulda:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/live-dc/livedc-herman-dune-dc9/