On Thursday night I went to Irving plaza to see Art Brut, Spinto Band, and Annuals. While I was very excited to finally catch Art Brut again I was also interested in the much blogged about Annuals. I arrived to the show at 9PM and, as always, grabbed a beer. After about 15 minutes or so Annuals took the stage.
The very first thing I noticed was the size of the band. I think their were about six people in the band. From what I had heard online they didn't sound like a band with six members. The lead singer also stood out with his weird fur bunny cap and a hoodie over that. As soon as the first note was struck the guitar and bass player on the north side of the stage went nuts. They had amazing energy, as did the lead singer/keys/floor tom guy.
While I was unfamiliar with nearly all of the Annuals songs I had a great time listening to them. I will definitely put the album into rotation once Tom gives it back. While I haven't heard the whole album I have heard a few MP3's and I have to say the live show kills any recordings. This band is excellent live and needs to reflect that better on tape.
Next up was Spinto Band and I didn't really care. They were fairly bland and did nothing for me. There were a couple of decent songs throughout the set but even the good ones were average at best. One of the singers, whom I believed played bass, reminded me of David Byrne. Actually the whole band were very herky-jerky Talking Heads in their motions. Needless to Say I was pretty happy when they finished up.
Once Spinto Band finished up I moved towards the front, where I ran into some friends. I also ran into the only 6'6" guy in the building and he happened to be right in front of me. Not only was he exceptionally tall but so were the rest of his buddies, clocking in at an average height of about 6'3". Unfortunately there was nowhere to go at this point and I was stuck behind the wall of giants.
Art Brut took the stage and immediately Eddie started doing his shtick, which is always amusing. I'll just get right down to it - Art Brut was fucking awesome. I really think that Art Brut is an exceptional live band. They bring a punk mentality to pop music and not in the pop-punk way. I would say more in the Buzzcocks way although they don't sound like the Buzzcocks. If you see them live I think you'll understand what I'm getting at.
At one point Eddie jumped into the crowd and started dancing with everyone. After a few minutes he was completely absorbed by the crowd. His microphone was passed to the front but Eddie was not. At this point the security guards started checking the crowd for any sign of him. A few minutes later Eddie came charging back towards the stage from the side and brushed right by me.
That was the sort of night it was - very fun and surprisingly intimate for Irving Plaza. But I think Eddie said it best, "Art Brut - Top Of The Pops. Annuals - Top Of The Pops. Spinto Band - Ehhh." He then followed with this very funny line, "The only reason they're on this tour is because they beat We Are Scientists at dice" (see video below). This comment led to the Spinto Band eventually charging Art Brut on stage. Eddie grabbed one of the guys and tossed him into the crowd. Of course it was all in good fun, which is the Art Brut way.
The very first thing I noticed was the size of the band. I think their were about six people in the band. From what I had heard online they didn't sound like a band with six members. The lead singer also stood out with his weird fur bunny cap and a hoodie over that. As soon as the first note was struck the guitar and bass player on the north side of the stage went nuts. They had amazing energy, as did the lead singer/keys/floor tom guy.
While I was unfamiliar with nearly all of the Annuals songs I had a great time listening to them. I will definitely put the album into rotation once Tom gives it back. While I haven't heard the whole album I have heard a few MP3's and I have to say the live show kills any recordings. This band is excellent live and needs to reflect that better on tape.
Next up was Spinto Band and I didn't really care. They were fairly bland and did nothing for me. There were a couple of decent songs throughout the set but even the good ones were average at best. One of the singers, whom I believed played bass, reminded me of David Byrne. Actually the whole band were very herky-jerky Talking Heads in their motions. Needless to Say I was pretty happy when they finished up.
Once Spinto Band finished up I moved towards the front, where I ran into some friends. I also ran into the only 6'6" guy in the building and he happened to be right in front of me. Not only was he exceptionally tall but so were the rest of his buddies, clocking in at an average height of about 6'3". Unfortunately there was nowhere to go at this point and I was stuck behind the wall of giants.
Art Brut took the stage and immediately Eddie started doing his shtick, which is always amusing. I'll just get right down to it - Art Brut was fucking awesome. I really think that Art Brut is an exceptional live band. They bring a punk mentality to pop music and not in the pop-punk way. I would say more in the Buzzcocks way although they don't sound like the Buzzcocks. If you see them live I think you'll understand what I'm getting at.
At one point Eddie jumped into the crowd and started dancing with everyone. After a few minutes he was completely absorbed by the crowd. His microphone was passed to the front but Eddie was not. At this point the security guards started checking the crowd for any sign of him. A few minutes later Eddie came charging back towards the stage from the side and brushed right by me.
That was the sort of night it was - very fun and surprisingly intimate for Irving Plaza. But I think Eddie said it best, "Art Brut - Top Of The Pops. Annuals - Top Of The Pops. Spinto Band - Ehhh." He then followed with this very funny line, "The only reason they're on this tour is because they beat We Are Scientists at dice" (see video below). This comment led to the Spinto Band eventually charging Art Brut on stage. Eddie grabbed one of the guys and tossed him into the crowd. Of course it was all in good fun, which is the Art Brut way.
Annuals
Link:
Full Photo Set On BSC Flickr
Top Of The Pops
2 comments:
Thanks! I recently got a new camera and the video on it is much better then the old one but the sound is horrible. Everything is super bassy, I think I'm going to use an old earplug and make a little mini filter for the mic.
How I art Eddie so. That was my second time seeing Art Brut, thank you so much for your post I'm gonna link it to my blog so whenever I need an Eddie , I can have it. Thank you!!!
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