Know Your Wolves
Back when we did our year-end poll we asked: What's the best band name involving wolves that isn't taken yet? Your said:
37.47% The Fear of Virgina WolfAnd while we don't have Fear Of Virgina Wolf news for you (yet!), lupines did take over Manhattan earlier this week and Stereogum caught both WParade and WMother. Here's how it went down...
23.44% Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!
20.99% Zwolf
09.74% The Killers (of Wolves)
08.37% Wolf 242
Wolfmother: Tuesday 4/11 @ Bowery
I caught these Aussies when they tore down Mercury in February. Replicating that show's mania was bound to be a tall order. I'm not sure that it did, but when a band rocks this hard time and again, it just doesn't matter.
Wolfmother set it off with "Dimension," a pulsing, Sabbath-y romp that had Andrew Stockdale in high gear from the start. After a shout out to those who came to their Pianos gig in '04, the band tore through the stop-start fury of "Apple Tree," Stockdale's banshee wail in full force. And so was that afro. We're talking serious volume in that thing. At one point, a boozed up joker started yelling "Is that a wig? Show us it's not a wig!" With two big tufts of `fro in each hand, Andrew gave a good yank and shot off a devious grin. Not quite biting off a bat's head, but it sort of felt like an Ozzy moment. And if you know Wolfmother, you know that moment wasn't alone...
The band dominates the stage. Andrew is their deranged ring leader, jump-kicking his way into instrumental sections, throwing his arms in beckoned calls to the crowd. Across stage there's Chris Ross, pushing and pulling his keyboard, pressing himself flush against his bass amp, somehow still locking with Myles Heskett's driving, Bonham fueled fills. Wolfmother matches each riff's intensity with arena-ready stage antics. They play as though their audience is 55,000, and that's exactly how you feel when you're watching.
Wolfmother killed. I didn't even realize that a pit got going during the encore until I caught an elbow to the lower back. I doubled over, wind knocked out of me, and then I saw my camera bag. Sitting in vomit! Meanwhile, the pit was in fits over the raunch-rock groove of "Love Train." There I was: gasping for air, gagging on puke fumes, watching Andrew jump and Chris careen. And loving every second of it.
"We can just have fun with it!" Stockdale told me during our interview in February. "We don't have to be artistically revered by novelists and in dungeons in Berlin. There's nothing wrong with going out and having a drink and seeing some rock, you know?" There is no pretense to Wolfmother. They're just out to rock you like it's 1971. You can call them on their influences, sure, but no one is mining this vein this effectively. Hell, they may even spearhead a retro dawn-of-rock movement. If that's the way it goes down, Wolfmother will be the Led standard, and we'll be talking about them in a whole new way. For now, we can content ourselves with talking about how much they rock, and how much Cleveland will rock when the band plays WXRK's Kuyahoga fest 8/3. How fucking photogenic are these dudes? Bring a camera.
Wolf Parade: Monday 4/10 @ Webster Hall
The previous day, we had ourselves a dose of wolves below 14th Street. These buzzed-about Canadians were in town for a two night sold-out stint. Scott and I wriggled our way up the left side of the floor and camped out with the fist-pumpers. This was my first time seeing the band. People had me braced for the worst but, a blistering set later, the band won me over.
The "You Are A Runner" → "Fancy Claps" transition was a perfect Wolf Parade moment. Krug sang "I'll build a house inside of you" over the jagged synth intro for "Fancy Claps," and the Hall exploded when the rest of the band crashed in. Another highlight came courtesy of Krug's vocals on the "Modern World" outro. Awesome. The four new songs performed were hit or miss, but generally well placed, leading into sure shots like the sweeping "I'll Believe In Anything" and a ramped up take on "We Built Another World." After taking my pics I moved toward the back of the Hall, by the bar, to take a look in the show from a distance. Didn't matter where I was. Wolf Parade brought it.
We know Wolves are so '05, and Horses are the black. But if you're already over Band Of ______ and They Shoot ______ Don't They?, check out Stereogum's latest equine obsession: Spook The Horse. Load up their jukebox and let us know what you think.
Posted at 11:13 AM in Concert
Tags: Wolf Parade
Sorry, but Indie 103 is/was pushing Wolfmother, and if I want to listen to Led Zeppelin I'll listen to Led Zeppelin... and I made a promise to myself to never do that again. EVER.
(Come on, you KNOW if Led Zeppelin had recorded 'Woman' it would have sounded identical... be honest now)
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Here's another link to a video of theirs.
http://www.kmoyes.com/wolfmother/whiteunicorn_320.mov
Slightly larger crowd than at Webster Hall
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Do you have another link Jexy? That one isn't giving much love...
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What exactly is Bowery Ballroom's policy on taking photos? Sometimes I see them telling people to stop, other times it's a free for fall.
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Sorry Amrit, that's all I have. I got it off Screenhead.com
It's pretty slow unfortunately.
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ugh wolfmother. puke party.
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I walked out with a trusted music compadre after a half-hour. I felt that they were VERY derivative even though my expectations were properly set. I would equate them to a hybrid
of Sabbath/Zep cover band with a sprinkle of Kravtiz pageantry thrown in. They have no edge to them. Less hair, more Satan.
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Did Wolf Parade play "Disco Sheets"? That's the only WP track I like :)
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It really seems like Wolfmother is being shoved down out throats. During SXSW they were overpromoted, even had promotion video on public access. I just dont think they are worth all the hype..
http://ultra8201.blogspot.com
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speaking of horses
www.myspace.com/fearofhorses
2nd track is my fave
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Bowery's photo policy is set by the band which is why it changes every night.
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you sound like pussies....
I'll be at Webster Hall on June 3 to get my face rocked off by Wolfmother.
great writeup of the show by the way, well good!
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cool stuff, man.
Rock and Roll is dawning again.
(Three hurrays for the zep followers, by the way...)
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I am an absolute beginner from Detroit. Too young for Stooges/MC5 gigs but did sneak into original Bookie's Club with fake ID. Nikki of Nikki & the Korvettes was my girlfriend in the day. The Donnas would not exist if not for Korvettes. Sang in Todd's Club house band Third Estate mid 80's. Published 2 Detroit zines, "Eighties" & "Tear it Up" (Cochran Style. ) Now I ride/bob Brit bikes and work for the Man. Family style w/ a breathtaking wife. Why do I give you kids my lengthy resume before I tell you about Wolfmother? To prove I know my shit. Before you sucked your Momma's teet. I knew my shit.
I bought the CD. I saw them blow up the stage MC5 style at Lollapalooza in Chicago this summer. Young Aussie rock brothers keeping the faith. Oh, you can hear their influences? Good for fuckin' you. The Rolling Stones circa '66 were influenced by Howlin' Wolf and Chuck Berry. Jack was influenced by Son House just a few years ago. And pay attention - Ozzie is NOT GOOD or COOL anymore. But he once was fabulous. Wolfmother is fabulous NOW. And that's life crybaby. Go get drunk and stoned and see a good band play. Wolfmother is one of those bands. I'll see 'em in Detroit over Thanksgiving and can't wait. Anyone who takes the piss out of this band for being too derivative is the same type who called Paul Weller a revivalist for being in the Jam. You can't even imagine how good the Jam were live. Three piece. Loud. As Fuck. Full of energy. Singer nodded to great bands from a few years past like Small Faces. Jumped a lot. Sweat. Dressed cool. Girls were in love. Sound like anyone we're talking about?
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I know this is old, but just came across it. Great review of Wolfmother.
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wolfmother rocks, i play every one of there songs on my guitar! man i hope i get to see them live, i can already tell that its gonna be great.
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I just came across this as well, good review. I saw Wolfmother in September opening up for The Strokes in Boston, and Wolfmother put on a great fucking show. They were far better than The Strokes, who's songs became discernable about 2 numbers into the show(and were ultimately pretty damn boring). I love the fact that Wolfmother has no qualms about emulating their influences, they just do it, without a hint of irony. They just rock, and are fucking good at it. So why can't people just enjoy good rock music when they hear it, it's a rare commodity these days.
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WOLFMOTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ummmm. yeah
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sooo wolfmother, I think they rock and they bring the rock. i just wish that people would give these guys credit for whats due. when was the last time you heard a NEW, GOOD rock band. sure they sound a little like zeppelin but zeppelin sounded like who they were influenced by. same goes for ozzy...so in turn go look at your record collection and then listen real hard and thennn jam it up your asses for being so closed minded. peace, love and music. your friend the true music lover.
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Wolfmother just played at the Avalon here in Boston last night, and they did not disappoint. I see some other commentators have bitched about them not being super-duper original (like anyone EVER has been so original without soundling like crap), but fuck them. This is a rock band. If you like rock, then you don't care who their influences are so long as they don't suck live. Wolfmother doesn't suck live. So I don't care about their influences. And they rock. If you want boring unoriginality, go see a pop band or a hip-hop band perform. If you want someone avant garde and original, go see the crap that fills art venues all over the world (bring your barf bag). Rock is all about seeing a show and enjoying it for the rock. Wolfmother qualifies with room to spare.
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i'm still sad that zwolf didn't win
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Wolfmother rocks HOT HOT HOT!!!!!!!!!!!! CHRIS DELLAS my Shelter DJ still crushing on U since the 80*s sexy black Toni. I STILL CAN SEE BLUE VELVET THROUGH MY TEARS. Good Night Kids.
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