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After only listening to them for a day, Big Troubles definitely did not disappoint. Like I said in the previous entry, brilliantly catchy mix of early 90s indie pop with shoegaze, somewhat reminiscent of both the Pains and the Boo Radleys, but definitely hook-y and interesting enough to make themselves stand out (which shouldn't be too hard in the indie-pop and shoegaze deprived NY-tri-state-scene).
But Zola Jesus was really my main draw for the night, and oh man, crushing so hard. I missed out on her last time she came through town because of Woodsist, but since I've seen some other live photos/videos, I was not expecting a solo set. But damn, I'm happy anyways, since the sparseness of just her voice and her little keyboard/drum machine completely amplified the emotional effect of her songs.
Damn. The Intelligence was great last night. What the hell. I did not expect a mosh/crowd surfing at an Intelligence show. Was actually kinda scared that the crowd wouldn't be that into them, since it didn't start to fill up until well into last night's show, but it ended up being one of the more fun crowd's I've seen recently.
Aside from them, Wild Yaks and Golden Triangle were somewhat forgettable-- neither did anything really new or interesting, nor was the music strong enough to transcend how derivative they were. Not exactly saying that either band was terrible, there's much worse around, but neither is really worth watching out for.
However, the first band of the night, Smarts was definitely a nice surprise, an affectingly ramshackle band, somewhat reminiscent of fellow baltimore-ites, Double Dagger. Definitely kept me interested and entertained throughout their set, much more than I can say for the two bands preceding Intelligence.
As for tonight's show,
SAT 9/12 — REAL ESTATE, Desolation Wilderness, Zola Jesus, Big Troubles @ SILENT BARN
I'm pretty fucking psyched. Zola Jesus is one of my favorite bands/whatever you call one person who writes/plays it all (is that still a band?) that I've listened to recently, so I really can't wait for that. The Spoils is a great album, and while I still prefer the somewhat darker aesthetic of New Amsterdam and Tsar Bomba, I definitely appreciate the album as well.
Besides Zola, I just started listening to Big Troubles today after noticing their addition to the lineup. I actually missed them at the Underwater Peoples showcase last month, since I came a bit late, but I'm really impressed by what they have on their myspace. It's really great/simple indie-pop, in a similar vein as the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, with an equally great shoegaze influence, specifically The Boo Radleys (Compare the song Lazy Day by the Radleys and Freudian Slip by Big Troubles--it's the same riff!).
Okay, so I'll admit, I'm pretty late on jumping on The Drums bandwagon, but hey! I tried to be immune to the hype, be a rebel/elitist and 'Just-Say-No' to the increasing allure of a popular NYC indie pop band that ISN'T the Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Sorry guys, love yall, but NYC is in dire need of more twee).
And so, I finally caught them opening for Cymbals Eat Guitars at Brooklyn Bowl the other night along with my summer love: Real Estate, These Are Powers, and Suckers; much to my elitist chagrin, I actually... kinda liked them. A lot. And was really annoyed/disappointed that, for the most part, no one else was dancing along with them. I mean, for chrissakes, the frontman and the tambourinist/guitarist were shooting around the stage and flailing their arms, showing more energy in that one set than I've seen in full shows.
This whole surf/ocean/beach thing is kinda getting old, but while The Drums' 50s/60s/80s inspired take on it isn't the most original thing, in what's becoming a very crowded 'theme' (I see you Real Estate/Beach Fossils/Wavves/Best Coast/Vivian Girls/Crystal Stilts/etc.), they definitely stand out as a nice and poppy alternative to reverb soaked or fuzzed out competition.
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