As I walked up to the counter to pick up my ticket, people were being turned away and I knew this was going to be a good night. I love sold out shows. They just feel right. The floor was packed even before Beach House took the stage, so by the time The Walkmen plugged in, and lead singer Hamilton Leithauser let go with one of his powerful wails, the crowd was ready and buzzing.
For a New York band whose sound often seems on the brink of falling apart in a drunken mess, The Walkmen are relatively clean cut — at least compared to the Portland crowd who, as usual, looked shaggy. You can tell that they’ve played together for years. Every warbled vocal and shambling plunk on the piano is perfectly timed. The only odd bit about the show was the addition of a four piece horn section that only came on for a handful of songs. Except for two songs, they didn’t really add much to the sound. In the end, they just seemed a bit superfluous.
While The Walkmen nailed my favorite song off You & Me, “In the New Year”, the highlight of the concert for me was when they sang “We’ve Been Had” and “Wake Up” off of their debut Everybody Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone. The songs were revved up, sounded fresh, and they took me back to when I first picked up their album. Leithauser has a great rock scream, which I think sounds best on their faster songs and always makes me think of late nights drinking. The rousing songs and wobbly almost slurred lyrics seem to make the lights both bright and blurry.
At first, I thought Beach House and The Walkmen made for an odd pairing, but once Beach House started playing it was clear that they had a similarly woozy albeit much quieter sound. It’s as if they were soundtracking the same night, just later on when you find yourself slumped over in a booth in some random bar, too drunk to move, but somehow unable to pass out. I don’t want to confuse you– Beach House opened and did a good job warming up the crowd. It’s just that if this concert was a film, I’d recut it and let the night wind down with Beach House instead.
The Walkmen: website | myspace | interview with | You & Me review | @ bowery ballroom
Beach House: website | myspace
Photos: Dese’Rae Stage
