The New Deal - The Warehouse (Hartford, CT; Dec. 12, 2008)

Untz Upon A Time

The last time there was an economic depression in the 1920s, the economy was saved by The New Deal. On that note, there were certainly no signs of any economic downturn at The New Deal’s packed-to-the-gills show at The Warehouse in Hartford, Conn. George and Barack can keep their stimulus packages; I’ve got your stimulus package right here in the form of 160 untz-per-minute from real live musicians. Who needs economic indicators when you can watch The New Deal indicate to each other where to take the jam with a mysterious system of Terry Francona-like hand signals? Who needs economic projections when we’ve got psychedelic projectors? I swear, if it were possible for everyone on earth to have been in this untz-humping, neighbor-rubbing, crooked-hat wearing crowd, we would all get along just fine.

I love singers and lyrics. I really do. I just reviewed some singer/songwriters earlier this week. But one of my favorite things about The New Deal is that they just shut up and play. They take the stage, drop about 1-2 minutes of psychedelic ambient entrance jam just to let everyone know the show is starting, and then drop the hammer on the breakbeats. After that, it’s on for as long as the set goes. They don’t stop. They don’t rest. And if you’re worth your weight in untz, neither do you. This was another full-throttle crowd performance similar to my recent Girl Talk experience, replete with girls on stage, crowd-surfing, and partial nudity. Are people generally getting more insane at shows lately, or am I just going to the right shows? All I know is, if you see The New Deal, wear a shirt you can afford to soak through.

This show really was the full stimulus package. The visuals were second-to-none, with a full system of par cans, technobeams, lasers, and projections. (Not to mention plenty of flying glowsticks.) The room is quite new and highly recommended. Whoever is behind this Warehouse venue has something good going. Having a second room for the opening band to play in saves a ton of setup time in between acts and also gives the opener an opportunity to play at setbreak. I loved the way they got The New Deal on within two minutes of the opener finishing their set.  The sound is thick and thumping. The antique brick adds character and a feeling of intimacy. Not dirty, not sterile. The New Deal may have sent the whole building into orbit during the show. I’m pretty sure nobody would have noticed. 

Next time you need a stimulus package to get you through a tough time, don’t wait for the government handout. Get The New Deal on your own, and you’ll be just fine.

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