popwreckoning

One very good option this past boiling Friday night in Washington was to head into the decidedly more comfy confines (read: well air-conditioned) of the Black Cat to see We Are Scientists gig on the main stage. This time, they’d brought with them two opening acts, girl group Bad Girlfriend and Lightspeed Champion (aka Dev Hynes).

I tend to be overly critical of girl bands. Especially if they’ve got long blonde locks and are dressed in polka-dotted, super short dresses. But the truth is, they have so much to prove in the male-dominated music industry, and that means they have to really rock and prove themselves a hundred times over to audiences and critics. With the unsigned Brooklyn band Bad Girlfriend, I wasn’t too impressed with their vocals – a song titled “Blonde Rocket” isn’t really my thing – but their garage fierce guitar-playing leads me to think there’s something there, if it’s not obvious on the surface. The sound is very Californian – jangly guitars with vocals, kind of similar to what the Like and Surfer Blood are doing these days (somewhat aping the Beach Boys‘s vibe), but the songs aren’t as strong as those groups.

Next up was Lightspeed Champion. I first came to know of Dev Hynes‘s solo work by hearing the ‘tude-filled and hook-laden “Marlene” on BBC 6music, so I was expecting to hear this recent single at this show. No such luck. Hynes, seemingly always wearing his New York Yankees baseball cap, played Friday night with nothing but his guitar and a Macbook for backing. If you’re into uncomplicated sweet pop songs, this would have been the set for you.

One girl at the front knew every word to every song Hynes played, so I’m glad she was up front, but I think I can speak for the rest of the crowd, we were mostly lost. For example, “Galaxy of the Lost”, with the lyrics of ” well kiss my open wounds, and add some ice, and choke on my sick vice,” is more heart-wrenching and probably would have worked better with a less happy-go-lucky, indie rock band than We Are Scientists. Hynes has a strong singing voice as evidenced by songs like “Midnight Surprise”, it’s just that the audience there that night at the Black Cat were mostly the kind who didn’t appreciate his type of mostly baroque pop.

We Are Scientists began their set shortly after 11. By this time, the club had mostly filled up and it was feeling a little cramped in the front. The Black Cat hosts mostly all-ages shows, so by now, those who could drink had already thrown back a couple and were being generally obnoxious. The band’s latest album Barbara was just released in mid-June so I knew they’d be playing songs from that album. The most disappointing thing about the whole night was that it became crystal clear to me that most people there didn’t have a clue that the band had new songs, let alone that they had a new album out. Um, there’s this thing called the internet? “Nice Guys” started the set with appropriate high energy, but the crowd wasn’t with lead singer / guitarist Keith Murray and bassist Chris Cain. I love the song, the way it’s frenetic and poppy. But the crowd wasn’t feeling it.

The next song, “This Scene is Dead” from their debut With Love and Squalor, went down far better, everyone in the club dancing along. As the night went on, it was obvious the old favorites – “Inaction,” “Dinosaurs”, and “The Great Escape” (introduced by Cain as their best dance song) just three examples – that the majority of the crowd had come to see. Peppered throughout the band’s set was Murray and Cain’s always funny conversations with each other and with the crowd; I’m not sure if all the joking was causing them to make count-in mistakes, but it really didn’t matter because like cats, they always landed on their feet with something terribly amusing to say to us and everyone forgot that there was a “mistake” in the first place. Another mistake I spied was by a girl who had pushed herself to the front and had elbowed all of us out of the way. In her effort to be “seen” by the band, she waved her arms frantically during the last third of the set, and then clapped enthusiastically to new song “Jack and Ginger,” blissfully unaware that she was clapping completely off the rhythm. She also stole a set list from the stage later, which all regular Cat gig-goers know is bad etiquette.

I don’t know about you, but to me, a We Are Scientists gig seems to be the last place you’d see canoodling. But there was a couple right up front, making out during “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt” while me and new friends I’d made at the concert rolled our eyes and looked away to stop ourselves from getting sick. I guess if you had to choose a song to make out to, that would be the one. I just wasn’t expecting anyone to do it at a gig. I mean, really. Get a room. Or at least go to the side and get out of our way. We want to groove to “Chick Lit” and “It’s a Hit” and you’re really distracting us.

An aborted attempt of Cain’s to start encore song “Cash Cow” causes him to fool around with this bass, concocting several possible lines to be Murray’s “theme song” until Murray is happy with it and the audience cheers for him at the just the right moment. See, with any other band, five false starts would be cause for cat-calls and groaning. But not for our We Are Scientists. They’re funny, they’re real, and for goodness sakes, they play some great rock. And if you haven’t seen them live yet, go. You are in for a real treat.

We Are Scientists Set List
Nice Guys
This Scene is Dead
Inaction
I Don’t Bite
Impatience
Let’s See It
Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt
Rules Don’t Stop
Chick Lit
Pittsburgh
Ambition
It’s a Hit
Dinosaurs
The Great Escape
Jack and Ginger
After Hours
//
Cash Cow

Tour Dates:
Jul 19 – Horseshoe Tavern / Toronto
Jul 20 – Blind Pig / Ann Arbor, MI
Jul 21 – Bottom Lounge / Chicago
Jul 23 – Larimer Lounge / Denver
Jul 26 – Doug Fir / Portland
Jul 27 – Biltmore Cabaret / Vancouver
Jul 28 – Neumo’s / Seattle
Aug 06 – Troubadour / Los Angeles
Aug 07 – Slim’s / San Francisco
Aug 08 – Cellar Door / Visalia, CA
Aug 10 – Kilby Court / Salt Lake City
Aug 12 – Record Bar / Kansas City, MO
Aug 13 – Old Rock House / St. Louis
Aug 14 – Basement / Columbus
Aug 15 – Brillobox / Pittsburgh
Sept 03 – Fountain Square / Cincinnati

We Are Scientists: website | myspace | Brain Thrust Mastery review | @ Johnny Brenda’s | @ Austin Music Hall | @ Electric Factory | @ Black Cat, January 2010 | MP3 Minute: “Rules Don’t Stop” | We Are Scientists Debut “Nice Guys” Single | Interview with: Chris Cain of We Are Scientists | Barbara review
Lightspeed Champion: website | myspace
Bad Girlfriend: myspace

“Are you ready to rock?” asked a jovial Barry Hyde of the Futureheads Friday night. Cheering ensued. He flashed an evil grin. “You’re in the right place, because we are too!” The Sunderland, England punk rock quartet played a blazing set of favorites old and new to a crowd raring to go at the Black Cat in Washington. Their latest album The Chaos was released in America this past Tuesday on Dovecote Records.

The first of two support acts, the Static Jacks, seemed perfectly matched to the punk sensibility of the headlining Sunderland rockers. This five-member New Jersey band is a band primed for success that you’ve probably never even heard of by name before. According to Wikipedia, tunes by this self-described garage-soul band have graced “The Hills” and “The City” and have been featured on stateside satellite radio. Despite sporting a haircut reminiscent of Lyle Lovett, singer Ian Devaney has the swagger and aura of coolness of Joey Ramone and the magnetism of the Horrors‘ Faris Badwan. I was standing in front of bassist Spencer Kimmins and guitarist Henry Kaye and nearly got hit in the head by wayward guitar necks; this didn’t put me off at the slightest, because this is what you should expect during a high energy punk set. You don’t expect the bass player to hit a suitcase with a stick like it was a drum either, but you go with it if the music is good. Despite their young age (all of them under 21, according to the Xs on their hands), they have a polished but aggressive sound. If they keep this up, expect big things from this band soon.

The Like, an all-girl group from Los Angeles, have previously toured with some heavy hitters – Muse, the Arctic Monkeys, and Razorlight, just to name a few. Given their sometimes punk, sometimes sunny pop sound, the comparison to the Go-Go’s is inevitable. There are also whiffs of the Beatles (check out the video for “He’s Not a Boy” below, which reminds me of the nightclub dance scenes in “A Hard Day’s Night”) and the Beach Boys with their harmonies. Oddly, their set sandwiched in between the Static Jacks and the Futureheads almost felt like a rest period because they couldn’t match the liveliness of the other two acts. I would have preferred if they stuck to punk (and showcase their technical chops) than with retro pop. Their next album produced by Mark Ronson, Release Me, will be released on June 15 on Downtown Records.

He’s Not A Boy from The Like on Vimeo.

Sunderland, nestled in the far reaches of Northeast England, has been criminally neglected by music pundits in the past, but mark my words, it won’t be for much longer. One of these days someday soon, America will come to its collective senses and realize the wealth of music there, from the likes of Field Music, Frankie and the Heartstrings, and Friday’s headliners the Futureheads. I should have known I was in for an amazing nights simply from a message lead singer/guitarist Barry Hyde sent me hours before the show, “we’re going to rock your socks off!”

The moment Hyde and his band stepped on the Black Cat stage, you could sense the electricity in the air. The driving count-in of “5-4-3-2-1!” of “The Chaos” was a superb way to begin a set that never let up in sheer intensity and fun. “Heartbeat Song” was prefaced by Hyde with, “imagine it’s the ’80s. You’re in a John Hughes film, and you’ve just fallen in love.” Wow. It’s the obvious earworm single of The Chaos, and was simply breathtaking live as a pop-punk masterpiece. I previously linked to the excellent promo video for the song on a tour announcement 2 months ago, but check out this “making of” video that shows you just how fun these guys are.

Their roadie had painstakingly taped down all the guitar cords onstage, and this was because guitarist Ross Millard, bassist Jaff Craig, and most often Hyde himself could be found roaming the stage while frenetically going at their instruments with gusto. By the second song in, all of them were covered in sweat. Having never seen this band before live, I was not expecting the very funny stage patter from Hyde and the interaction between him, Millard, and Craig. It made an already stellar gig even better, and I’d argue they rank up there with We Are Scientists for pure during-gig hilarity. Early on in the show, Hyde chided a drunk couple who had been chatting throughout the set, one of whom had thrown a empty glass at his feet. “You do know this is a gig, right?” The crowd cheered in response.

During their cover of Kate Bush‘s “Hounds of Love,” Hyde involved the audience in a shouting contest, as Millard was unable to do his harmonies due to a sore throat, Hyde admitting he was scared to sing part of a song that he’d never done live before. Aww. (If you were wondering, my side singing along with Craig won the contest due to our enthusiasm in participating.) For the encore, Hyde indulged a devoted fan as the band played “Man Ray” from their 2004 self-titled debut album, saying to her, “after every single song we’ve played you shouted for this.” Just goes to show that persistence, in the presence of a obliging band, pays off. After such an energetic set, it was obvious that these chaps from Sunderland could have played on for hours and hours and the crowd would have eaten it all up. I can’t wait to see these guys again soon.

The Futureheads Set List
The Chaos
Meantime
Heartbeat Song
Decent Days and Nights
The Baron
Area
Struck Dumb
Sun Goes Down
Skip to the End
The Connector
I Can Do That
The Beginning of the Twist
Hounds of Love (Kate Bush cover)
Jupiter
//
This is the Life
Man Ray
Work is Never Done

Tour Dates
Jun 07 – Paradise / Boston
Jun 08 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City
Jun 10 – Mod Club / Toronto
Jun 11 – Magic Stick / Detroit
Jun 12 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago

The Futureheads: website | myspace | The Futureheads Ready for June North American Tour
The Static Jacks: website | myspace
The Like: website | myspace