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Review: |
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Despite the location, The Loft is actually a
pretty cool venue. I like the layout. It's very wide, and if
you want to catch the band off to the side, it's a very intimate
experience. If they need to, I think they can expand the size
of the floor (there is a curtain that can be drawn back, revealing
all that IKEA furniture that they have images of on the website).
I enjoyed the New York's French Kicks, the first act to go
on. They were pretty good. The band features really bright,
flashy percussion, chorusing vocal backgrounds, twinkling guitar,
and sharp keyboards. There is an almost Beatles' style cadence
that protrudes. I say this rarely, but in this instance I can
hear it. They have a very swelling sound that really cuts through
live. It was very exciting. They put on a great show, and I'm
interested in seeing them again, and scouting out their albums.
Apparently, the singer used to play the drums as well. This
has to be a new dynamic. I'm sure the band has found this to
be a concrete formula, as evidenced with this performance.
The Futureheads came on, and I couldn't help but notice how
lame the drummer was. Jesus Christ man, he seemed to be in
a real pissy mood. He had a very disappointed look on his face
the whole show. There was one percussion flurry during a song
from their first album, but that was it. I am sorry that we,
as the collective community of Atlanta, suck. That's how I
felt. But the rest of the band played on, not to be dissuaded
by singer Barry Hyde's little drummer brother Dave. They rocked.
Perhaps Dave was a little off that night, but the band otherwise
did well.
It would probably be safe to say that The Futureheads are
more popular across the pond because the popular music scene
there generally has better taste. The sound is angular, loud,
and forceful. Dueling lead vocals and brash percussion are
some characteristics of the band. Jesus, those guys have some
pipes! However, on their sophomore LP, News and Tributes,
The Futureheads have calmed way down. They were great before,
but now they've honed the songwriting and have created a more
somber album. The show was not notably less energetic than
when I saw them a year ago, but there was definitely a lighter
tone on the tracks from the new album, which came out about
2 weeks before I saw this show.
One thing that was a bit surprising was that it appeared that
they've scaled down their light show. I remember it clearly
from last
year, but didn't see much this time. I know that sounds
silly, very silly in fact, but it was a nice touch to the
band before. It could have been the venue's choice. Whatever.
It was still a decent performance.
I feel sorry for bands sometime, when it looks like they're
bored or completely in pain when playing on the stage. But
I say, dammit man! You're being paid to sit around most of
the time and sleep. It must be grueling. I'll take that shit
any day of the week instead of what I do for a living. So,
for the grumpy drummer, The Futureheads, deserve a 1 point
deduction on performance. Not a big deal, but a little unappreciated.
Again, it was a good show. A little disappointing, but not
so much that I'll miss them next time.
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