New York City’s twee pop band the Pains of Being Pure at Heart will be touring with new wave artiste Twin Shadow and several other bands come the end of March. They also make their first appearance in Mexico, ever, at the Indieofest on March 12. The band’s second album, Belong, is expected to be released in late March on Slumberland Records. For a taster of the album, check out the already released singles for “Say No to Love” and “Heart in Your Heartbreak.”
Tour Dates:
Mar 10 – 35 Conferette / Denton, TX
Mar 12 – Indieofest / Mexico City
Mar 31 – First Unitarian Church / Philadelphia
Apr 01 – Black Cat / Washington, DC*
Apr 02 – Cat’s Cradle / Carrboro, NC*
Apr 04 – 40 Watt Club / Athens, GA*@
Apr 05 – Earl / Atlanta*@
Apr 06 – Bottletree Cafe / Birmingham*
Apr 07 – One Eyed Jacks / New Orleans*
Apr 08 – Fitzgerald’s / Houston*
Apr 09 – Emo’s / Austin*
Apr 12 – VFW / Santa Fe*
Apr 13 – Club Congress / Tucson*&+
Apr 18 – Cellar Door / Visalia, CA*&
Apr 19 – Great American Music Hall / San Francisco*&
Apr 20 – Doug Fir / Portland*&
Apr 22 – Crocodile / Seattle*!
Apr 25 – Triple Rock Social Club / Minneapolis*
Apr 26 – Turner Hall / Milwaukee*
Apr 27-28 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago*%
Apr 29 – Rhino’s / Bloomington, IN*%
Apr 30 – Basement / Columbus*%
May 02 – Daniel Street / Milford, CT*
May 03 – Paradise / Boston*#
May 06 – Webster Hall / New York City*^
* with Twin Shadow
@ with Gold-Bears
& with Catwalk
+ with Warpaint
! with Seapony
% with Weakness
^ with Big Troubles
The band recently released a new single, “Say No to Love,” in June on Slumberland Records.
Tour Dates
Oct 20 – Paradise / Boston#
Oct 21 – Music Hall of Williamsburg / Brooklyn#&
Oct 22 – Pi Lam / Philadelphia#
Nov 04 – Venue / Vancouver^
Nov 05 – Vera Project / Seattle^
Nov 06 – Reed College / Portland
Nov 07 – EMU Ballroom / Eugene^
Nov 09 – Independent / San Francisco^
Nov 10 – Fresh and Fabulous Cafe / Oxnard, CA^*
Nov 11 – Loft @ UCSD / San Diego^
Nov 12 – Echoplex / Los Angeles^
# with Yuck
^ with Weekend
& with the Blow + Young Men
* with Sweater Girls, Sea Lions and Avocados
My first listen of the Pains of Being Pure at Heart live was a little over four months ago. From a precarious balcony view, high above a packed crowd at the Nottingham-Trent Uni main room (one of several venues for the English city’s Dot to Dot Festival), I could make out several figures onstage. I could hear the great music and I watched as the people on the floor cheered loudly for the band: swaying to the music and clearly enjoying themselves. So I promised myself that sometime soon I’d see them live, up close and personal, preferably in our country. I finally got that wish Wednesday night at the Black Cat, when they made a stop in Washington on the last day of September with two fellow New York bands.
The first to appear was Cymbals Eat Guitars from Staten Island. This is a band of extremes. At one point in time, you’re thinking, okay, this band is a mellow, woozy, college rock kind of sound. Then they decide to unleash their fury on everyone in the room: drummer Matthew Miller‘s sticks flying and arms playing guitars flailing. And this switch of mood – and possibly back and forth a couple times- can happen in one song. Lead singer/guitarist Joseph Ferocious (as he is named on the band’s MySpace) favors a manic strumming technique when he’s not singing, lending to the band’s sometimes outrageously punkish sound. But all is not punk with Cymbals Eat Guitars – they have a keyboardist, Brian Hamilton, who adds an unexpected layer to the band’s tunes. “And the Hazy Sea” is an example; it’s like riding on a roller coaster, wondering what’s coming around the bend with baited breath.
Ferocious was giving it his all, the perspiration visibly dripping off his nose by the second song. Halfway through the set, Ferocious realized there was something wrong with the way his guitar sounded. Hamilton and bassist Neil Berenholz tried to help by fiddling with recalcitrant amp to no avail; eventually, they “borrowed” equipment from the Depreciation Guild and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart touring guitarist Christoph Hochheim. Their set closed with “Wind Phoenix” and the crowd clapping loudly for soldiering on despite technical difficulties.
When a guy and a girl were setting up things at the merch table before anyone started playing, I thought I recognized the guy as being one of the people in the Pains of Being Pure at Heart press shots. Imagine my surprise when the same guy sang and played guitar the Depreciation Guild as well as drummed for the Pains. Turns out I was right: the man in question was Kurt Feldman. The band is made up of Feldman and twin brothers Christoph (guitar) and Anton Hochheim (drums).
The band’s set-up had to one of the most unusual I’d ever witnessed; Feldman set up a small, black wooden table and then opened a plastic box to reveal – wait for it – a red, early era Nintendo set, complete with ancient controllers. If you’re wondering how the band gets some of those electronic sound effects into their songs, wonder no more. Then there was a big screen behind the drum kit to which blocks of color were projected onto, flashing throughout the band’s performance. Somehow, they were able to sync the movement of the blocks to match the song rhythms – really cool because it felt like you were standing inside a kaleidoscope while they played. Songs like “Sky Ghosts” and “Dream About Me” sound just as floaty dream pop as their titles suggest.
With a look of innocence with a bit of mischief, Kip Berman asked, “are you ready to fall in love tonight?” The crowd responded riotously to the Pains of Being Pure at Heart singer- this was likely due to the fact that the band knows a lot of people in the D.C. area, as evidenced by Berman’s sociable fluttering around before their set, shaking hands and talking with devoted fans and friends. We also learned that Archie Moore, another D.C.-er, mixed their latest EP, “Higher Than the Stars,” but was unable to attend because of a new addition to his family. So this didn’t feel like just another gig. It felt warm and inviting, like a family gathering. “This Love is Fucking Right!”, the band’s first song out of the gate, got things off to a rollicking start.
Guitars, keyboards, and drums with vocals from Berman and keyboardist Peggy Wang combine to create one cohesive sound that can only be described as feel good pop. Given in short, sharp doses, this is the kind of music that gets into atom of your being and just feels…right. Watch the animated playing of Berman, Wang, Christoph Hochheim (guitar), Alex Naidus (bass), and Kurt Feldman (drums), and you see that everything just works together splendidly. Shoegaze, making a big comeback this year, has never sounded better or more gorgeous in the Pains’ hands. This night, instead of being miles away from the band, I had a front row view to the swirling, droning guitars and Berman’s gentle vocals about what else? Love. They are a pop band after all. Berman prefaced my favorite song prior to seeing them live, “Everything With You,” with “it’s about that best friend you want to make out with. Sometimes!” I argue that it’s one of the sweetest songs ever written about that four-letter word.
We also got to hear songs from their new EP, just released last week on Slumberland Records. “Higher Than the Stars” and “103″ were wonderful live, so I expect that whenever the band can make it back to the studio, they can make magic again. Thanks to the efforts of the great KEXP in Seattle, you can watch the band playing the title track of the EP live at the Doug Fir in Portland. It’s fab.
So ladies and gentlemen, I do believe I have a new favorite live band. In answer to Berman’s question, yes, I was ready to fall in love. Yep, I lost my heart to the Pains of Being Pure at Heart Wednesday night. I’m eagerly looking forward to the next time I can experience this band live.
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Concert Calendar
Nov 23, 2011
HaHa Tonka @ Recordbar, Kansas City MO
Nov 25, 2011
Thee Oh Sees @ The Granada, Lawrence KS
New York City’s twee pop band the Pains of Being Pure at Heart will be touring with new wave artiste Twin Shadow and several other bands come the end of March. They also make their first appearance in Mexico, ever, at the Indieofest on March 12. The band’s second album, Belong, is expected to be released in late March on Slumberland Records. For a taster of the album, check out the already released singles for “Say No to Love” and “Heart in Your Heartbreak.”
