LIARS
Caught the Liars on my first trip to Avalon, the old Limelight. The Avalon's a pretty cool space, but the sound's not so good. Maybe this is because the soundboard is now at Smoke and Mirrors, using its power for good, not evil.
It's amazing the Liars are as popular as they are (two nights before tonight they played a headlining Saturday at the cacophonic Warsaw.) In a New York music landscape where bands with nice haircuts are all starting to sound alike, they've got a heavily experimental bent, much more so than what Sonic Youth is offering up of late, for example. And they're heavy--they make a lot of noise for three people, and while some of it is just for the sake of making noise, some of it is tribal and primal. There were a couple songs where 2 out of 3 guys were just playing drums, and even though there were drum triggers and loops, it was powerful and loosening. It made me remember that it wasn't melody or McCartney or guitar solos, it was drums that made rock and roll, and it's drums that will keep it interesting (for me anyway).
The Liars offer plenty of content at their site, but for starters watch a snail eat to 'Let's Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack', which blew me away. The live drums were much louder, so you'll have to air-drum along, and maybe beatbox.
It's amazing the Liars are as popular as they are (two nights before tonight they played a headlining Saturday at the cacophonic Warsaw.) In a New York music landscape where bands with nice haircuts are all starting to sound alike, they've got a heavily experimental bent, much more so than what Sonic Youth is offering up of late, for example. And they're heavy--they make a lot of noise for three people, and while some of it is just for the sake of making noise, some of it is tribal and primal. There were a couple songs where 2 out of 3 guys were just playing drums, and even though there were drum triggers and loops, it was powerful and loosening. It made me remember that it wasn't melody or McCartney or guitar solos, it was drums that made rock and roll, and it's drums that will keep it interesting (for me anyway).
The Liars offer plenty of content at their site, but for starters watch a snail eat to 'Let's Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack', which blew me away. The live drums were much louder, so you'll have to air-drum along, and maybe beatbox.
posted by stinkrock at 11:24 PM
2 Comments:
One might go so far as to say that guitar solos actually ruined rock 'n' roll...
I'd say rock and roll is equal parts melody, guitar, and beats. Weakness in any of these areas can spell boring.
I would say that drums are the most under appreciated component to R&R with bass playing coming in a close second.
Both Jackson and I were blown away by Plimsouls drummer Bryan Head last week, not for what he did, but for what he didn't do.
For most non-musicians, it's hard to recognize a guy who can simply hold a beat vs a really good drummer. There's a detectable comfort that a good drummer achieves that I've been lucky enough to witness a drummer and good friend's metamorphous to this level.
That dude for the Plimsouls reminded me of that.
“…Using it’s power for good, not evil.” I don’t know, I’ve seen Jackson and Chrispy get that Dr. Frankinstein and Igor thing going over there at S&M and it scared me a couple of times. Maybe more of a Dr. Necessator/Schlermy Beckermann thing…
Post a Comment
<< Home