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BRMC and Thenewno2
May. 14th, 2013 08:00 pmCyn wanted to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. We had an album or two of theirs, and it sounded like a fun show. Neither of us were the biggest fans, or knew much at all about them.
By showtime, I still didn't know who was opening. In fact, I still didn't know who they were, by the time they were done.
They came on stage, and looked like a bunch of kids in the average opening band slot. In Their first song, the sound was horrible. Despite this, they had some good things happening with their music. A couple more songs, and the sound had cleared up, except for the vocals. I never could really understand anything the lead singer sang or said, but they continued with the interesting music. They were a six-piece. Bass, drums, keyboards, and three guitarists who sometimes switched off to other instruments.
After they were done, Cyn and I moved up near the stage. While waiting for BRMC, I decided I'd buy a CD from the opening band. Eventually, I went back to the merch table, and discovered the band, called Thenewno2, was there, singing autographs. But they were just leaving, so I didn't get a chance to say anything to them, or even get a good look at them. The next day, Cyn looked them up and found that the leader was George Harrison's son, Dhani.
We were down front for BRMC. Not right at the stage, but fairly close. We were looking up at the band. They're a three-piece, Robert Levon Been (usually lead singer, usually bassist, sometimes guitarist or keyboardist), Peter Hayes (sometimes lead singer, usually guitarist) and Leah Shapiro (drums). Shapiro's thundering drums powered the show, while Been's and Hayes's dense, distored guitars and bass kept it aloft.
They had a brooding look. Everyone was dressed in black. Hayes's hair was down over his eyes. Been's hair was done up high, but he never really seemed to look at the audience or smile or speak to us. There was little real contact. Just the intense music. I've heard a lot of adjectives and genres applied to their music, and one of them is footstomping. Funny how that applies, with the dense layer of guitars, but those drums were so powerful! You can't really deny the folk element, either, though the live experience is a bit louder than the records. Here's a cool video.
The distortion was hell on my ears. I should have gone to the back of the room about halfway through (assuming that would have helped). My ears were really ringing when I got home. I was actually upset with myself. That took some of the fun out of it, after the fact. That, and remembering the audience. Too many people were chatting through it. Like, oh, a quiet song! Now we can hear each other talk! One guy had a word with a couple who were pretty vocal, and also visually annoying, with their phones and facebooking. The photography was pretty annoying, mostly with phones, but there were a couple of bigger cameras. One of them, near us, was in use constantly. And when Been was sitting at his piano, at the edge of the stage, doing a quiet song in subdued red lighting, someone held up a camera from the front row, and took a flash picture. Awesome. And then did it again.
So anyway, by the time I got home, my ears were making me cranky and I remembered all the audient's drama, and it was a downer. Note to self - always bring earplugs, just in case.
Here's a setlist from the previous night's show in Indy:
Let the Day Begin, Rival, Red Eyes and Tears, Hate the Taste, Beat the Devil's Tattoo, Whatever Happened To My Rock'n'Roll, Ain't No Easy Way, Berlin, Returning, Love Burns, Mercy (Robert solo acoustic), Fault Line (Peter Solo Acoustic), Fire Walker, Windows, Conscience Killer, Stop, Lullaby, White Palms/I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier, Mama, Six Barrel Shotgun, Spread Your Love, Encore: Sell It, Lose Yourself
Thenewno2's setlist from Indy: Crazy Tuesday, Something, Station, Timezone, I Won't Go, Wide Awake, So Vain, Hanging On, Hiding Out
By showtime, I still didn't know who was opening. In fact, I still didn't know who they were, by the time they were done.
They came on stage, and looked like a bunch of kids in the average opening band slot. In Their first song, the sound was horrible. Despite this, they had some good things happening with their music. A couple more songs, and the sound had cleared up, except for the vocals. I never could really understand anything the lead singer sang or said, but they continued with the interesting music. They were a six-piece. Bass, drums, keyboards, and three guitarists who sometimes switched off to other instruments.
After they were done, Cyn and I moved up near the stage. While waiting for BRMC, I decided I'd buy a CD from the opening band. Eventually, I went back to the merch table, and discovered the band, called Thenewno2, was there, singing autographs. But they were just leaving, so I didn't get a chance to say anything to them, or even get a good look at them. The next day, Cyn looked them up and found that the leader was George Harrison's son, Dhani.
We were down front for BRMC. Not right at the stage, but fairly close. We were looking up at the band. They're a three-piece, Robert Levon Been (usually lead singer, usually bassist, sometimes guitarist or keyboardist), Peter Hayes (sometimes lead singer, usually guitarist) and Leah Shapiro (drums). Shapiro's thundering drums powered the show, while Been's and Hayes's dense, distored guitars and bass kept it aloft.
They had a brooding look. Everyone was dressed in black. Hayes's hair was down over his eyes. Been's hair was done up high, but he never really seemed to look at the audience or smile or speak to us. There was little real contact. Just the intense music. I've heard a lot of adjectives and genres applied to their music, and one of them is footstomping. Funny how that applies, with the dense layer of guitars, but those drums were so powerful! You can't really deny the folk element, either, though the live experience is a bit louder than the records. Here's a cool video.
The distortion was hell on my ears. I should have gone to the back of the room about halfway through (assuming that would have helped). My ears were really ringing when I got home. I was actually upset with myself. That took some of the fun out of it, after the fact. That, and remembering the audience. Too many people were chatting through it. Like, oh, a quiet song! Now we can hear each other talk! One guy had a word with a couple who were pretty vocal, and also visually annoying, with their phones and facebooking. The photography was pretty annoying, mostly with phones, but there were a couple of bigger cameras. One of them, near us, was in use constantly. And when Been was sitting at his piano, at the edge of the stage, doing a quiet song in subdued red lighting, someone held up a camera from the front row, and took a flash picture. Awesome. And then did it again.
So anyway, by the time I got home, my ears were making me cranky and I remembered all the audient's drama, and it was a downer. Note to self - always bring earplugs, just in case.
Here's a setlist from the previous night's show in Indy:
Let the Day Begin, Rival, Red Eyes and Tears, Hate the Taste, Beat the Devil's Tattoo, Whatever Happened To My Rock'n'Roll, Ain't No Easy Way, Berlin, Returning, Love Burns, Mercy (Robert solo acoustic), Fault Line (Peter Solo Acoustic), Fire Walker, Windows, Conscience Killer, Stop, Lullaby, White Palms/I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier, Mama, Six Barrel Shotgun, Spread Your Love, Encore: Sell It, Lose Yourself
Thenewno2's setlist from Indy: Crazy Tuesday, Something, Station, Timezone, I Won't Go, Wide Awake, So Vain, Hanging On, Hiding Out
