A few weeks ago a friend of mine introduced me to The Evens. It's the latest from Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and Amy Farina (The Warmers). He knows I'm a huge Minor Threat fan so he thought I might dig it. After I heard the album I thought it was pretty good but way more Fugazi then Minor Threat. It was pretty mellow but still had a definite punk rock vibe to it.
last night that same friend invited me out to see The Evens at NYU. The tickets were only $5 so of course I went along. When we entered the venue there were activist tables lining the walls of the performance room. On the floor a punk rock marching band was performing. I forgot how weird college events could be but part of me missed all that excess bullshit.
After the "Rude" marching band cleared of the dance floor an old dude that kinda looked like Rasputin started setting up his gear. The old dude was Daniel Higgs of Lungfish and he opened with an odd little Jew's Harp ditty. It was decent but not what you would expect as an opener for Ian MacKaye.
He was joined on stage by a woman who was playing violin and other random instruments. Throughout the set both performers were doing faux India-style vocals but with nonsensical words or English. They also used a variety of unusual instruments, which they passed back and forth. Like I said, it was pretty good but a little out of place given the context.
When they left the stage Ian came out and started setting up equipment. When they came out Ian had his baritone guitar and Amy took her seat behind the drums. As soon as they started I was a bit shocked. They have a very stripped down sound (two vocals, guitar, & drums) and played fairly quietly yet they were shockingly powerful.
Ian was never known for having a great "singing" voice but the gruffness sounded pretty good, even in a quiet song. Amy shared vocal duties and she has an amazing voice which worked well against Ian's. There were a few tracks which picked up the pace a bit. On these tracks Ian got into pissed off punk mode and was basically screaming the vocals and pounding on the guitar. Of course those songs were outstanding in my book.
According to Ian they played an hour set but it seemed shorter then that. But I guess that means I had fun right? And how could you not when Ian MacKaye is on stage. And of course there was the one asshole who yelled out a Minor Threat song - Ian hates when people do that. So he launched into his "music of today, not yesterday" speech, which I think he has memorized at this point.
Overall I really enjoyed the show and highly recommend you check them out when they come around. Despite an almost acoustic sound they managed to play one hell of a punk rock show.
The Evenslast night that same friend invited me out to see The Evens at NYU. The tickets were only $5 so of course I went along. When we entered the venue there were activist tables lining the walls of the performance room. On the floor a punk rock marching band was performing. I forgot how weird college events could be but part of me missed all that excess bullshit.
After the "Rude" marching band cleared of the dance floor an old dude that kinda looked like Rasputin started setting up his gear. The old dude was Daniel Higgs of Lungfish and he opened with an odd little Jew's Harp ditty. It was decent but not what you would expect as an opener for Ian MacKaye.
He was joined on stage by a woman who was playing violin and other random instruments. Throughout the set both performers were doing faux India-style vocals but with nonsensical words or English. They also used a variety of unusual instruments, which they passed back and forth. Like I said, it was pretty good but a little out of place given the context.
When they left the stage Ian came out and started setting up equipment. When they came out Ian had his baritone guitar and Amy took her seat behind the drums. As soon as they started I was a bit shocked. They have a very stripped down sound (two vocals, guitar, & drums) and played fairly quietly yet they were shockingly powerful.
Ian was never known for having a great "singing" voice but the gruffness sounded pretty good, even in a quiet song. Amy shared vocal duties and she has an amazing voice which worked well against Ian's. There were a few tracks which picked up the pace a bit. On these tracks Ian got into pissed off punk mode and was basically screaming the vocals and pounding on the guitar. Of course those songs were outstanding in my book.
According to Ian they played an hour set but it seemed shorter then that. But I guess that means I had fun right? And how could you not when Ian MacKaye is on stage. And of course there was the one asshole who yelled out a Minor Threat song - Ian hates when people do that. So he launched into his "music of today, not yesterday" speech, which I think he has memorized at this point.
Overall I really enjoyed the show and highly recommend you check them out when they come around. Despite an almost acoustic sound they managed to play one hell of a punk rock show.
Opening acts:
Link:
More Photos on Flickr
MP3:
No Money - The Evens
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