Ben Grubin has an excellent presence live even though he's a shorter guy. That really did surprise me about Grubin; from his very commanding voice and amazing range I kind of expected someone looking like Tom Petty or something (he sounds like Petty at times) but he's a very short very young looking guy. He was festooned in some eccentric looking attire consisting of a knit cap with tassles, a dangling feather earring, and a long tunic-like t-shirt. Grubin would have been right at home on MGMT's Oracular Spectacular album cover. He danced convincingly, swinging on the mic stand a couple times, playing guitar, and even drums on occasion. I was a little disappointed about how the performance sounded just a little canned and not as live but I'm sure that has more to do with the electronic nature of the music rather than the performance, which definitely had me singing along. I say this only out of honesty and not to denigrate the performance which I thought was, overall, really great. Hockey's guitar player wowed me almost as much as Grubin with dead on accurate and articulate licks to go with the precise, electronic, beats.
Learn to Lose by Hockey^
3AM Spanish by Hockey^
The two bands that played before also impressed me. The opening one was called the Postelles and I saw them play in 2008 with the Wombats in Boston and remember thinking their performance was pretty hot back then and that notion was only reinforced. I didn't even know they were on the bill this time and was pleasantly surprised to find them playing the Warehouse, as I walked in and saw the bass drum with their name on it. They play a loud but poppy almost 50's revival type rock that definitely contains echoes of the Ramones if only a little less punky. They did, however, do homage to the punk kings of Queens with an excellent cover of "Beat on the Brat". Even after seeing them twice, I haven't had enough. Check out their White Night EP that just came out in March. It's pretty cool.
Beat on the brat^
The second opening band that went on was the Constellations and they were the only band playing that night that I didn't have any opinion on before the show. I'd heard one song by them but wasn't completely sure what I thought about them. By the time the show was over I was positive that I loved them. The vocalist, Elijah Jones, was standing next to me during the Postelles' set without me even knowing. He was a crazy looking guy with long, blond, curly hair, with a jean jacket and jean bucket hat. I noticed the Postelles waved to him once but I didn't pay that any mind until he got up there and started doing his thing. They opened with a great number called "Setback" which was trippy, loud, and full of energy:
Setback by the Constellations^
Their set was dominated by Jones' Beck-like rapping and singing over different mesmerizing, funky, beats. The keys were especially hot. I was really blown away by their psychedelic but incredibly dancy music. The last song they played was a cover of Tom Waits' jazzy number about advertising called "step right up". It's absolutely one of my favorite Tom Waits songs and I was singing along once I realized what they were doing. I'd already been treated to a great cover of "beat on the brat" by the Postelles and now it was "Step right up"; the night just kept getting better and better. During one of their last numbers Elijah jumped out into the audience and started running around like he was nuts, running into people and then collapsing onto the floor. I loved it. Here he is on the ground:
Jones was just as cool as the vocalist/rhythm guitarist from the Postelles. I handed him a business card for the blog and we talked about Tom Waits me for a second while he was breaking down the equipment. Classy guy. The Constellations' debut album, Southern Gothic, comes out in May. Be sure to look for it. From what I've heard, I'm sure it will blow your minds.
Yet another great show in the Warehouse Live Ballroom.
No comments:
Post a Comment