I’m a pretty poor judge of last night’s The Walkmen show at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, because I’m predisposed to not enjoy anything in that basement venue. The combination of the low ceiling and the poor lighting and sightlines prompts an unrelenting panic attack from the moment I walk down those beer soaked steps.
While I usually avoid all shows there, I had to make an exception for New York’s The Walkmen. This band and all three of their albums are simply phenomenal. And as everyone will tell you, the huge draw is vocalist Hamilton Leithauser. Yeah, the band has crafted a pretty original, raw sound with great touches of echoey horns and organ, blah, blah, blah - but, good lord, that voice! Leithauser isn’t just reminiscent of Bob Dylan. He channels Dylan - a wise, soulful, raspy howl floating out of his 20-something body. Live, he belts out the vocals even more passionately than recorded. It’s as though Dylan made a pact with Leithauser, entrusting him with his voice, and Leithauser travels the world, sharing this gift with all. As icing on the cake, Leithauser performs Leonard Cohen covers with equal aplomb and brilliance. What’s next, a Tom Waits album? Someone needs to redeem the work of Scarlett Johansson.
The Walkmen’s set drew heavily from their new release You & Me, which is arguably the strongest of their three fantastic albums. Some in the packed, youthful crowd had already learned the new material, and regardless of their familiarity with it, everyone joyfully nodded along. Since I spent most of the show nervously nursing a whisky with one eye on stage and the other on the fire exits, I missed the end of their set. But I’m going to safely guess that they played crowd favorites “Louisiana” and “The Rat” and everyone sang along. Go see The Walkmen perform (in a venue that doesn’t terrify you). Buy all their albums. Listen to those Leonard Cohen covers. Thank me later.
Opening for The Walkmen was Portland’s The Builders and the Butchers. I missed them, but my melophobe counterpart said they played a tight set (though he’s likewise from Portland, so there may be a bit of bias). The second openers? Hmmm. Have you listened to the This American Life episode where the Hasidic Jew starts a hardcore punk band? That episode and that awful hardcore are far more entertaining than Golem, whose novelty Klesmer act wore thin after, say, 2 minutes - probably at the point when the male vocalist started singing about female anatomy while accompanied by the accordion. Ugh. Golem’s performance was certainly polarizing, as the young kids in the front jumped up and down to the quasi-traditional beats, while the old hats in the back rolled their eyes. You can guess where I was standing.
Ugh. Paste’s profile of Free Energy made me kind of hate them. So does your review. It’s this unctuous defense of good-time rock-and-roll ("we’re just here to party, and we’re awesome!") that seems more self-serving than fun-loving.
by beth on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.41 pm from the entry: Foreign Born + Free Energy - The Knitting Factory (Brooklyn, NY; Mar. 12, 2010)
that inescapable feeling you are referring to, is that like when you hear something and you could have sworn you heard it before because of the nostalgic catchy quality? or is is like when you’ve heard a band exactly like said band?
great post by the way!
by paul on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 03.15 pm from the entry: The Novel Ideas - "The Sky Is A Field" - Borrow It
Whoa! I had no idea she was enegaged. You would never know with the way she behaves! Wow!
by art on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.48 am from the entry: Nikki Darlin and John McCauley: 1+1=1
This comment stream is so meta. Great review Kelly.
by chris on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 07.50 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
no prob. The whole album is excellent, combining some of the harder sonics of Los Angeles with the meat of his debut and obviously difficult to summarize in only 50 words… 
I’d say it’s on par with the debut, but better than Los Angeles.
by kelly on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.23 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
By the way, I really liked the mp3 posted. Thanks.
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “Picture yourself coasting your bike past space funk palm trees, homeless harpists, vintage video arcades, electronic drum circles, and 60s psychedelic singers who’re waiting for the bus. Cosmogramma is kinda like that if someone suddenly tripped you just as you’re starting to enjoy the ride. But in a good way.””
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
