Voxtrot @ Mercury Lounge, NYC 4/9/06 (And KEXP MP3s)
"Of course it's limp. It's twee!" Ramesh joked. He was talking about an uncooperative mic stand and not his music, but Srivastava's self-effacing banter is a sign of his confidence. And it's well placed. Take in two taut EPs and an hour of their live set, you'll feel the same. Last night, Voxtrot offered up another dose of their melodic and succinct pop with personality, presencem and Ramesh's indefatigable hop.
We made for a sleepy Sunday crowd, but our applause compensated for tired head-bopping. Didn't take much, with Voxtrot's infectious twee shimmer and drive. For 'shimmer' see Mitch Calvert's guitar work: all tastefully arpeggiated chord inversions and trebly staccato jangle. The 'drive' comes courtesy of the rest.
"Rise Up In The Dirt" was one of the band's most rocking moments, moving from a smooth chorus to that great, jittery eighth-note bass-drum lock up. Watching bassist Jason Chronis swing his semi-acoustic bass in time with his inflections, and seeing Jared Van Fleet clap and shake behind the keyboard, I always had something to watch while drinking in their tunes...
But the band has to be tight and engaging if they want to keep up with Ramesh. The Voxtrot Kid pogos around the stage like a bunny on speed, all while hitting every note of his mellifluous Moz-ish melodies. Every time I see them, I wonder how he doesn't fall over, or knock off a string. Well, he didn't fall over last night, but the inevitable guitar malfunction came.
And speaking of Moz, don't feel bad about mentioning the Mopefather or Belle and Sebastian around him. I spoke with Ramesh at South By about his dedicating "Start of Something" to those who couldn't make the Morrissey set across town that night. He laughed, saying "Can you believe that people actually write to me and say, 'Hey, love your stuff, I think you'd really like Belle and Sebastion and The Smiths?'"
Strong songwriting. Flawless execution. It's no wonder the blogosphere has been eating this up (and streaming this up) for months. Only in the distorted-bass chorus and ride-out of "Soft and Warm" is Voxtrot arena-sized, but the band's pristine pop gems have the luster to brighten any room, any size.
After the show we swung down to Dark Room for the afterparty, with promises of DJ sets from Brooklyn Vegan and Aziz Ansari. Though they came by, they never did hit the stacks. [For comedic indie rock musings, check out Crash Test tonight instead . Patton Oswalt will be in-house!] I had to bounce anyway, a busy week of Wolf hunting ahead. If I'm being honest though, nothing could be finer than another night with Voxtrot. Maybe I'll make that happen.
SETLIST
- Unrecorded Song [? -- "And I wouldn't give one ugly moment /I'd wrap it up and keep it in my sock" -- anyone?]
- Raised By Wolves
- Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives
- Rise Up In The Dird
- Wrecking Force
- Long Haul
- New Song
- Fast Asleep
- Soft & Warm
- Start of Something
- Missing Pieces
Voxtrot - "Heaven (Live @ KEXP)" (MP3 Link Expired)
Voxtrot - "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives (Live @ KEXP)" (MP3 Link Expired)
Voxtrot - "Rise Up In The Dirt (Live @ KEXP)" (MP3 Link Expired)
Voxtrot - "Soft And Warm (Live @ KEXP)" (MP3 Link Expired)
Posted at 5:10 PM in Concert
Tags: Voxtrot
Cool post! I love Ramesh. Thanks for the KEXP mp3s!!
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sounds like they're ready to graduate to a full cd and some gigs at the Bowery.
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i like strips
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You can download the band's WOXY.COM in-studio here:
http://woxy.com/music/loungeacts/index.php?id=50
They played "Raised By Wolves" right into a cover of Comet Gain's "You Can Hide Your Love Forever" and it is really fantastic.
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I was going to write why I hate VI's reviews so much, but i won't. I'll just say that they annoy the living shit out of me.
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ramesh is awesome! saw them in chicago and can't wait til they're back!
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Village Crasher's a weenie!
VOX ROX!
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Village Crasher's a weenie!
VOX ROX!
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VOX ROX indeed! Not the Village Indian!
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so neat and surprising to see people from around the country talk about a friend's band. they are nice guys
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I saw Voxtrot a few times at South By. It felt like they were everywhere! But that was a good thing :-) Ramesh is as crazy as the post says, so much fun to watch! Seriously, there are times to backlash, and this isn't one of them. Great band. Thanks for posting!
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ramesh wasn't as crazy as everyone says he was the first two times i saw voxtrot in austin. and i feel like he is always wearing that shirt. hm.
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ramesh wasn't as crazy as everyone says he was the first two times i saw voxtrot in austin. and i feel like he is always wearing that shirt. hm. evs.
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tight jeans. yes.
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are we calling it "South by" now? Cause I find that "tre gay".
I love this band, but this is some pretty terrible music writing.
"The Voxtrot Kid pogos around the stage like a bunny on speed, all while hitting every note of his mellifluous Moz-ish melodies."
your writing is puke-a-liscious
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ramesh, aziz, amrit all in the same room! that has to be the holy trinity of hipster indians or something.
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Did anyone go last night? I thought they were incredible despite the technical difficulties. And I'm pissed that Andrea Vaughn sang "Long Haul" with them on Sunday as evidenced by the photo above but not last night and she was standing up front singing along the entire time. Darn! I think they would've played it if their equipment hadn't been malfunctioning the entire night and thus if they wouldn't have to play a slightly abridged set.
Oh and Ramesh was wearing a different shirt.
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and how about the drunk girl last night....wow. all she wanted was some attention.....and another long island ice tea.
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Voxtrot = The Smiths + Gang of Four
If Scotland’s Voxtrot had debuted five years ago, their music would probably impress me more, but this whole n?thing has definitely been played out. Sure, the music is enjoyable, but the jagged guitars and dance beats sound like every other mediocre Gang of Four/Cure wannabe band out there: Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads, Bloc Party, The Bravery, The Killers, etc. It seems as if Voxtrot may have entered the scene a little late, and, well, sux dood. It’s time to do something different – let’s just hope the next wave of nostalgia doesn’t bring about anything called “n?ge.” Catch Voxtrot at a special sale price at your local Virgin Megastore! – Jamila Roehrig
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Since when are Voxtrot from Scotland?
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glad to see some hatred for this guys crap reviews. why stereogum? why?
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why indeed - yeah the scotland thing is off
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your review is sooo much better than mine.
nice meeting you!
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great pics. i was at the monday show, really good in spite of the equipment snafus...and that drunk girl SUCKED!!! love the EP's even more after having seen them. I have some pics from the monday show: http://indie-licious.blog.com/675642/
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