Live Reviews

The Naked And Famous – Terminal 5, April 4^th 2012

Having produced one of the best albums of 2011 in ‘Passive Me, Aggressive You’, The Naked And Famous have very much sharpened up their live act to go with their increasing popularity. This gig sold out well before the night, and tickets were being bought way over face value on various exchanges. They have added an impressive light show to the live performance which complements the electronic side of their music perfectly, and seemed to make it easier for the crowd to get into things. 

The support from the Vacationers was solid, they played good softer indie stuff, and its always refreshing to see a band use a full size xylophone on stage.. As well as going through all the major songs from last years album The Naked And Famous played a couple of new songs, which sounded excellent, and some older stuff which was pretty decent and almost comedic. My only slight knock on the band is that perhaps their current sound would not be big enough for venues larger than this, but they are certainly moving in the right direction and this show was a marked improvement on the gigs of 6-8 months ago, which were pretty good to start with.. Impressive stuff.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Pulp – Radio City Music Hall, April 11^th 2012

Growing up in England in the mid 90s means it is almost impossible not to appreciate Pulp, and Jarvis Cocker. Pulp are generally categorised as quintessential britpop, though to me their style was somewhat different to the likes of Blur, Cast, Menswear, Echobelly etc, a little edgier and darker. Regardless, this show really was a blast from the past. The band played for almost 2 hours, and could have got through many more songs than they actually did were it not for Cockers banter and stories between songs. He has fantastic rapport with the audience, and to be honest I would gladly pay just to hear him talk and tell his stories, regardless of music. They opened up with the brilliant ‘Do you remember the fist time?’, and basically played all the greatest hits from their biggest albums ‘His N Hers’ and ‘Different Class’, and a couple of songs from ‘This is Hardcore’. Cocker has certainly not lost any of his signature dance moves and swagger, and the performance was thoroughly energetic and hugely entertaining. Regardless of what you paid for a ticket here, you certainly got your moneys worth. A fantastic show and a real trip down memory lane for a lot of people.

MUST SEE

White Denim – Bowery Ballroom, April 13^th 2012

The first of a Friday night doubleheader, I didn’t know a lot about White Denim before this gig. They are basically a rocking jam band; a little country at times and a little 70s, with some bluesy stuff reminiscent of The Black Keys. This was an impressive performance, they are a tight unit and the singer has a deceptively powerful voice when he gets going. I fundamentally do not understand the popularity of Jam bands and long jamming sessions at the end of songs however, my assumption is the substances taken by the audiences for those types of gigs make you see things in a different light (watching Phish for 3 days solid??).. Id swap for a guitar solo anyday, but I digress..

White Denim are definitely a good time, with a big sound. They are worth watching and would be a great band to see at a festival.

RECOMMENDED

The Cribs – Music Hall Of Williamsburg, April 13^th 2012

The return of the Wakefield Ramones! The Cribs are a proper rocking punk band, and you are always guaranteed an energetic performance at their shows. They went through a mixture of old hits and newer songs, though the performance was notably less disciplined without Johnny Marr. In truth this was probably the smallest crowd I’ve seen the band play to in New York, which I’m assuming is down to Marr no longer being there. Vocals are not really the Cribs strong point, particularly from the secondary vocalists, but the music isn’t really about their voices. The band refuse to do an encore, which I personally think is fantastic but because of this the show was pretty short. This was a decent performance, but for me the removal of Marr from the lineup has definitely had a negative impact.

RECOMMENDED