[EDITOR'S NOTE: Below is the second concert review from our man-about-town Amrit. Read his Sigur Rós write-up here. This time, Amrit turns his sights on BRMC and Elefant, and comes away none too pleased with Webster Hall. Enjoy. -Scott]
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are, in the words of my female companion Saturday night, “Sex on wheels.” Sinewy, clad in black and exuding an effortless cool beyond even that of their hipster audience, BRMC make all the right moves to all the right sounds. Now if only they played all the right venues.
The band’s third release (last year’s incredible Howl) saw BRMC trade in their shoegazey reverb and delay pedals for acoustic guitars, rockabilly slides and harmonicas, and last night’s setlist captured the best of both aesthetics. Though the trio was occasionally joined by a fourth to pick up rhythm guitar or bass duties, the affected strut and dynamic presence of Robert Been and Peter Hayes exceedingly filled the spare stage. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club live must be experienced.
Been’s bass dropped out during “Awake,” ironically coming on the heels of his amp being too loud for four songs, marring personal favorites “Howl” and “Ain’t No Easy Way.” Exhibiting a look of consternation in contrast to his usual passionately-detached cool, Been apologized for the band’s nervousness for this, their largest NYC show to date. Thankfully the trio regrouped incredibly well and closed out the show with all the driving fervor I had hoped for and expected. But as long as we’re identifying reasons for the show not living up to its dizzying potential, let’s maybe address the 800 pound gorilla in the blogosphere that most have already discussed.
Webster Hall has got to go. Perhaps those of you who haven’t seen a show at Webster or don’t live in New York find it difficult to imagine a venue having such a large role in a band’s performance, but I’ve seen one too many incredible bands lose a step when they enter that hall, and it’s enough. Sure, the room looks charming enough with it’s wall decor and club like balcony, but the sound is inevitably varying degrees of awful. Of course a band can (and has) come across well there — as BRMC definitely did — but put this performance in Bowery Ballroom and I would have been raving about this show for two weeks straight.
Case in point: The encore was poised to be the evening’s aural saving grace, featuring a beautifully rendered “Devil’s Waiting,” all acoustic plucking, world weary crooning and four part harmony. Unfortunately, total surrender to Peter’s soul-baring performance was impossible, the moment dismantled by a disco backing track and a floor rumbling to the sweet beat of that wild and crazy 80’s party downstairs. I sound annoyed, but it could have been worse: the pumping booty groove was in time with BRMC’s touching ballad, after all.
Bad sound may detract from most bands’ performances, but when seeing opener Elefant live it’s nearly irrelevant: their show is about Diego Garcia, an absolutely shameless and charismatic lead man. Diego was probably shown more love from the wasted guy screaming next to me than he was by Lindsay Lohan, and Garcia ate it up: first offering el drunko a boot-clad foot to touch, then the boot itself, followed by his sock and finally, his bare toes. Methinks this guy had a foot fetish, and Diego definitely fed it.
“What a weird first show. What happened?” he asked a few of us between sets. “I mean, I don’t have shoes on right now!” Somewhere in that quote is the crux of this band: A year from now I’ll remember his shoeless, spitting, yoga posing, face-licking antics more than any song during the set-but at the end of the day, I will remember-and that’s more than I can say for most.
After a long night, I was glad I still had the legs to hit the afterparty at R&R, where the rumors were substantiated and The Morning After Girls (the early opener at Webster) took the stage around 1 am with BRMC’s Peter Hayes. After playing two songs with the Girls, Peter offered two of his own, going solo for “Fault Line” and the Dylan-esque “Complicated Situation.” No floor-shaking booty beats here, folks.
The BRMC setlist…
So, a parting message to all you buzz bands we’ve been going crazy for at Mercury Lounge, Bowery Ballroom (and in this case, even Irving Plaza): resist the urge to book Webster-make it a double at the Bowery next time and we’ll promise to buy tickets to only one night so everyone can get in. Who’s with it?
Check out more pics from the show at Village Indian.
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I’m in! I vowed to myself never to go to Webster Hall again after I felt like the balcony was going to collapse at the Bloc Party show last year, but bands I want to see keep playing there. Whatever happened to the Academy?
I’ve enjoyed reading Amrit’s reviews…hopefully he continues to contribute regularly.
Elefant, yuck…
the sound was bad that night…the bass was sooo loud
Does that girl not realize Diego’s lips have touched Lindsay Lohan’s?
“I’m surprised more bands haven’t picked up on this by now. Webster Hall’s sound system yields nothing but mush.”
SNOOZEFEST.
I agree – There has to be a ban of Webster Hall. Not only does the sound suck, you can hear the bass from the horrible downstairs dance club, the drinks are overpriced but I arrived at 8:25 and BRMC had already started. I mean this is New York on a Saturday night – we have barely recovered from Friday night at this time. It’s ridiculous.
It seems that all the great bands that were playing Bowery are now playing webster hall – what can we do about this???
I think until a better medium sized venue opens up, bigger bands should play two nights at Bowery Ballroom, or one at Bowery and another at Southpaw or maybe Warsaw. Although I have my gripes with the sound at both of the Brooklyn venues I think the sound is still better than at Webster, and they are in walking distance for many potential audience members, and the drinks are more reasonably priced and shows don’t have to start so early.
Afterparty? Am I just not cool enough to know about these things?!?
i’ve seen two shows at webster (billy corgan: decent show+good sound, iron & wine: ehh show, good sound and that is quiet music too) and neither had bad sound. at all really. i keep being scared when I go there though because of all the horror stories. this Saturday I’ll see Stars and maybe I’ll get lucky again.
cool review — nice pics !!
Word Amrit. Webster bites. I saw BRMC at Irving when I was in town, they were sick. Sorry you guys didn’t get the same experience…
cool reviews,
I like seeing the pictures of the setlists
no Love Burns or Rock N Roll Punk Song?!?!
that is not cool.
Love Burns is the greatest rock song written in the last 6 years..
i might have to reconsider attending the LA shows.
seriously, Love Burns is such a great song. at least Stop was played.
great review BTW.
it seems like the Bowery Group has a general monopoly of buzz-bands that come through town…but what to do?
i guess great bands will always overcome the common obstacles of bad sound and 80’s dance beats.
i think the real issue here is the lead singer from elefant. When you see the lead singer from a band spit multiple times on an audience member who is singing along and showing him adoration, it is nothing short of horrifying. Later he was rubbing girls’ hands on his body and licking them. During the last song he took my hat off my head and threw it really far back into the crowd. what does that accomplish? while stunts like that will get you remembered, let’s not forget how completely dick they are to the audience. illegally download their new album.
you were close! some people may think diego is dreamy, but i’m into black clothes and distortion pedals. brmc gets me.
I love how this reviewer calls BRMC a buzz band when they were a buzz band nearly 7 years ago.
I really don’t like Elefant. For the same reason others like them, Diego. If he’s gonna be such a dick and such a rock star poser, at least have some substance behind the music you are toting.
Liver, I hope you got your hat back:)
i love the new brmc album. elefant’s new album, on the other hand, is one of the worst records i’ve ever heard. just absolutely god-awful. weird seeing them tour together… i had no idea. attending the show would have been a real dilemma for me, but a dilemma i wish i could have had. :crappybackwaternogoodconcerttown:
word. i agree that webster hall should be stopped- not only is the sound crap, but it’s hard to feel good about going to a place that has an ‘all male revue’ going on in another room. i feel gross even going to their website.
Saw BRMC last week and really enjoyed it in Boston. I liked the last Elefant album but the new stuff is very blah. Plus Diego is embarrassing to watch live.
I agree that the drinks are overpriced, the sound can be terrible, and the leaking music from the other rooms is very distracting. Plus the fact that everyone needs to be out of that ballroom by 10:30pm on weekends means a traffic jam of people on the stairs, and staff trying to sweep you out of the room. But, hey, the light show is fun.
Webster hall is 1400 hundred capacity to Bowery Ballroom’s 600. For touring bands (not from NYC), two nights at Bowery isn’t going to cut it when you factor in the economics. Particularly if they sell out Webster Hall. If a show’s in Manhattan, more people will come. If a show is early, people who might not otherwise will come, like those travelling from outside the city.
I don’t think that the bands don’t want to play Bowery two nights in a row, but they know they need to play a larger venue. And what are the other choices? Webster Hall is meant to compete directly with Irving Plaza, and the buzzy indie bands are booking with Bowery Presents simply because there’s already a good relationship there from the Mercury Lounge and Bowery Ballroom.
Howl is the most underrated album of 2005. And BRMC is the one of the few indie bands willing to take chances.
I suppose ‘this reviewer’ was carried away with his rhetorical rush to close out his case against Webster; my apologies if I offended anyone’s “buzz” based sensibilities.
Re: Elefant, from a critical standpoint, they’re a tough sell for me. With a camera in my hand, though, I was loving his ridiculousness. Ah, the perils of wearing two hats…
Thanks again for the love
Both shows I’ve seen there were great. Broadcast and The Go! Team. Both were on Wednesdays though.
I guess don’t go see whiny gear problem prone bands on Saturdays?
(BRMC’s entire population of gear didn’t work at Coachella a few years ago)
just another reason to be up on the scene–see the bands before they get to Webster!
Morning After Girls?
G.
Webster is fine. Its better than fine. The only time i’ve ever complained was the first bloc party show last year when it was 400 degrees. otherwise, Bloc Party 2, Arcade Fire, Franz Ferdinand, et al have all been great shows, great experiences, and great crowds. People are always just looking to bitch about something.
As for Village Indian, I know he means well, and his sigur ros review was alright, especially for someone like me who’s not too familiar with that band, but this review was weak. Also, ever since the editors weekend when he posted his review in the comments to every other blog around, he just smacks of self promotion. what are you gonna do?
I just saw BRMC in Washington, DC last night. Fantastic show. They just get better and better every time I see them. And they played Love Burns and Rock n Roll Punk Song. I think you can listen to the show on NPR.
Nice review. God how I love BRMC and hate Elefant.
i loved elefant.. diego is beautiful, and the music is insane… they have the best drumme in rock for sure.. brmc were cool, but kind of boring… diego totally spit in the guys face, and the guy loved it… great review.. thanks
very interesting write-up, albeit i’m not at all familiar with webster hall.
i really like brmc (still.. years later) and didn’t really like the new vibe on howl as much, but i can understand a band’s need for trying new sounds and experimenting. i also have a passionate distaste for elefant but even still, i’d definitely pay to see brmc again.
i saw them in ‘04 – the year they played at coachella and had terrible sound problems – but was fortunate enough to get last minute tickets to a secret gig they played at the echo on sunset blvd in l.a. on the monday after the coachella weekend. that show, in particular, made up for every sound problem they had at coachella and was the perfect venue to see them at, considering it was very small, very dark, and the sound was perfect. smaller venues are almost always better!
I’m loving Amrit’s reviews. Very well written.
I completely agree with all your gripes on Webster. I was getting angry about the bass beat I felt on the floor during the acoustic songs, but I thought maybe I was just being a snob. The early show times suck, and the sound problems get worse every time I am there. Been’s bass was completely drowning out Hayes’ guitar for some of the early songs. All those things ruined what would have been an excellent show for me. I too saw them in September at Irving and it was pretty much the same show set-wise, but was definitely the better show by far. It felt like BRMC were tired at Webster. Probably because they have been touring for a while, but they weren’t as tight as they normally are. But enough of the complaints…the show was still awesome.
WORD! Not only is the sound always atrocious, but the rest of the venue follows suit- sorry to the Webster fans out there. Great representation though Amrit- wish i was there to see it live anyway (antics esp). Quite entertaining.
i saw the Go Team at Webster a few months ago, and the venue was fine. but that’s probably because the band was loud the entire time they were on stage, overpowering any noise coming from the club below.
i wouldn’t want to see a band that has a “quiet side” at Webster.
yeah i did get my hat back karl. the people who were standing where it landed were very helpful, and someone was holding on to it for me. thanks for your concern.
Diego is just plain gorgeous! I’d eat it him up, lol screw lindsay lohan, he was probably drunk when he saw her, i love Diego!
Diego is just plain gorgeous! I’d eat it him up, lol screw lindsay lohan, he was probably drunk when he saw her, i love Diego! He’s fun, its nice to see something different, its very refreshing, especially when he’s hot too!
I can’t believe how many people gripe about Webster Hall! Ok, so the drinks aren’t the cheapest, and the bouncers are a little brash. But come on, guys. Security has to be tough to avoid being ignored. And think about how much rent costs for the people who own the venues in manhattan. They are giving you what YOU WANT. If you hate it, then open your own place to have these concerts. Where else other than the bowery (and they can’t have all the shows
and Webster, would these bands be playing? The big room seats well over a thousand people, but well under 3,000. That is exactly the size needed for all these bands that get booked by bowery. Plus, I don’t know what you’re talking about with the sound complaints. I mean, maybe they changed up the sound system between some of these reviews and when I started going to shows at Webster, but I think the sound is DAMN GOOD. The sound guy (most likely from the bowery) does a damn good job, and if the bands do a good soundcheck, then everything sounds great. And to whoever made the comment about the bowery having a lock on these bands, well what’s wrong with that? Would you rather them be booked by clear channel or live nation? Bowery is the largest independent booking company in manhattan. I think they deserve a little respect for bringing a great music scene back to lower manhattan. And doesn’t it make you proud, that for almost one hundred years, the best rock bands have been playing in that big ballroom at Webster? I know Janis Joplin, the Stones, Jerry Garcia, and Frank Sinatra didn’t hate Webster! (I read that the first live frank recording was made in that big ballroom.) And, to just bring things into perspective, I know I’ll see all you gripers at at least one Webster show in the next six months. Play nice, guys, from the perspective of somebody who has thrown many parties before, I can identify with all your concerns, but think before you gripe.
I can’t believe how many people gripe about Webster Hall! Ok, so the drinks aren’t the cheapest, and the bouncers are a little brash. But come on, guys. Security has to be tough to avoid being ignored. And think about how much rent costs for the people who own the venues in manhattan. They are giving you what YOU WANT. If you hate it, then open your own place to have these concerts. Where else other than the bowery (and they can’t have all the shows
and Webster, would these bands be playing? The big room seats well over a thousand people, but well under 3,000. That is exactly the size needed for all these bands that get booked by bowery. Plus, I don’t know what you’re talking about with the sound complaints. I mean, maybe they changed up the sound system between some of these reviews and when I started going to shows at Webster, but I think the sound is DAMN GOOD. The sound guy (most likely from the bowery) does a damn good job, and if the bands do a good soundcheck, then everything sounds great. And to whoever made the comment about the bowery having a lock on these bands, well what’s wrong with that? Would you rather them be booked by clear channel or live nation? Bowery is the largest independent booking company in manhattan. I think they deserve a little respect for bringing a great music scene back to lower manhattan. And doesn’t it make you proud, that for almost one hundred years, the best rock bands have been playing in that big ballroom at Webster? I know Janis Joplin, the Stones, Jerry Garcia, and Frank Sinatra didn’t hate Webster! (I read that the first live frank recording was made in that big ballroom.) And, to just bring things into perspective, I know I’ll see all you gripers at at least one Webster show in the next six months. Play nice, guys, from the perspective of somebody who has thrown many parties before, I can identify with all your concerns, but think before you gripe.
I can’t believe how many people gripe about Webster Hall! Ok, so the drinks aren’t the cheapest, and the bouncers are a little brash. But come on, guys. Security has to be tough to avoid being ignored. And think about how much rent costs for the people who own the venues in manhattan. They are giving you what YOU WANT. If you hate it, then open your own place to have these concerts. Where else other than the bowery (and they can’t have all the shows
and Webster, would these bands be playing? The big room seats well over a thousand people, but well under 3,000. That is exactly the size needed for all these bands that get booked by bowery. Plus, I don’t know what you’re talking about with the sound complaints. I mean, maybe they changed up the sound system between some of these reviews and when I started going to shows at Webster, but I think the sound is DAMN GOOD. The sound guy (most likely from the bowery) does a damn good job, and if the bands do a good soundcheck, then everything sounds great. And to whoever made the comment about the bowery having a lock on these bands, well what’s wrong with that? Would you rather them be booked by clear channel or live nation? Bowery is the largest independent booking company in manhattan. I think they deserve a little respect for bringing a great music scene back to lower manhattan. And doesn’t it make you proud, that for almost one hundred years, the best rock bands have been playing in that big ballroom at Webster? I know Janis Joplin, the Stones, Jerry Garcia, and Frank Sinatra didn’t hate Webster! (I read that the first live frank recording was made in that big ballroom.) And, to just bring things into perspective, I know I’ll see all you gripers at at least one Webster show in the next six months. Play nice, guys, from the perspective of somebody who has thrown many parties before, I can identify with all your concerns, but think before you gripe.