Brooklyn
Bowl hosted a compelling ensemble of bands Sunday night: Turf War, The Spinto
Band and Born Ruffians. The most interesting storyline of the evening, for me,
is my own association, or in this case, dissociation, with The Spinto
Band—directly in correlation with Born Ruffians. They had an album, Nice and Nicely Done (2005), that was
very symbolic of my move from Michigan to NYC, and was in constant rotation in
the same vein as Red, White & Blue (2008)
by Born Ruffians a few years later. I would say 2005 and 2008 were Indie Rock
“baby booming” times in my life, where I took on a shit-ton of new bands in a
music feeding frenzy of insatiable portions. These particular albums were
staples of said times, yet my fan-ship of the bands didn’t seem to latch on,
which is sad, because both bands carried on without me. Not to say they should
have stopped, but I am certainly glad they didn’t, and am elated to hitch
myself back on based on these rock shows I’ve seen. Nostalgia transcends itself
beautifully into new music merriment.
I
think the best way to approach this show, is to respect the ensemble cast and
unveil the evening like an ascending red carpet of rock goodness…
Turf War
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| Image stolen from: www.rollograndy.com |
They
are a five-piece indie pop punk band from Augusta, Georgia. One can certainly
feel the southern slather to their easy-on-the-ears punk sound. I was kind of
taking their set in from the distance while my group of friends arrived, and as
the Game 5 of the NBA Finals was beginning, but even without isolated attention
their music seemed legit. Definitely a great opening band, setting an upbeat
tone for the evening. Being the most “rocking” band of the evening, things were
off to a proper start. They have a great classic rock sound and many of their
songs, I felt like I could pick up and sing along, though I had never heard the
songs before—a handful had catchy “ooo-oooh-oooh,” and “Yeah-yeah-yeah…” type
backing vocals. I chanted along from a distance when I could.
The Spinto Band
I
can’t believe I forgot about The Spinto Band!?
I
still reference that album all the time in rotation and conversation, as I love
to frame a situation warranting much fanfare with a quintessential, “Nice! And
Nicely done!” in direct reference to that “Zerfas classic.” 2005’s Nice and Nicely Done was a breakout
album on Bar/None Records, after putting out four albums on their own label
Spintonic, dating back to their high school days in the late 90’s when they
were just getting started. The single “Oh Mandy” (played towards the end of the set...) was used for a commercial by
Sears, and subsequently funded the bands European tour. Somehow I missed the follow-ups
with intriguing album names: Moonwink (2008),
Shy Pursuit (2012) and Cool Cocoon (2013).
Shy Pursuit is just a lovely album
name, reminding me of my all-too-patient and quiet puppy dog crushing. Sigh.
And Cool Coccon just makes me want to
snuggle with someone, with a melodic and relaxing musical backdrop, which
coincidentally, is exactly what the album’s tone conveys. I wouldn’t mind a
cuddle convoy right now. Throw it on and line ‘em up!
It
seems the band is at a creative explosion lately, putting out two albums in
consecutive calendar years, again returning to their own label, Spintonic. Shy Pursuit and Cool Cocoon have a matured sound from the Strokes-y sound so many
bands had in that ‘05ish period. The band has moved to a more relaxed,
electronically driven sound, much in the way of Born Ruffians, with crystal
clean worldly vocals reminiscent of Vampire Weekend.
The
Spinto Band seems to have a great dueling dynamic to the band, with the more
mature lustrous sound coming from guitarist Nick Krill and the more driving,
dance-y songs coming from the buoyant stage presence of bassist Thomas Hughes.
On this evening he was flannelled up and rocking his ass off, in an upbeat
jubilant manner, contagious as hell. It was near impossible to not want to
dance right along with the set. They had a very commanding, stalwart stage
presence, reminding me that they are, in fact, veterans of the game. Not
underground greenhorns. Not to be ignored. These guys can play and these songs
are so pretty.
I
can only hope this spark in creativity and recorded music is more than just a
last hurrah for a band that deserves much more acclaim than they’ve been given
(myself included) over the years. The Spinto band is a dynamic live presence
and versatile force in the studio—it baffles me they don’t have a more
universal audience. I know I will ratchet my fan-ship up a notch and cusp faith
these boys will catch fire. They are worthy of the cause.
Born Ruffians
I
was debating whether to go to this show or not, being that I just saw Born Ruffians at Bowery Ballroom in April. I figured they would play a similar set,
but given that Brooklyn Bowl is one of the GREATEST places on Earth, the show
was affordable, my nostalgia for The Spinto Band—I figured if I had the night
free, this was the place to be. And I was right, however, I didn’t expect such
a reciprocal set from Born Ruffians.
I
use the term “reciprocal set” to mean a set that perfectly compliments the previous
set. Often times useful if you see a band a number of nights in a row, or on
the same tour, when you can find different things about the show that you
missed the first time—to complete the experience. Typically, this is done with
a varying setlist. Recently, I missed one of my favorite bands Say Anything as
they toured with a concept of playing “rarities and b-sides” on their latest
jaunt. That would have made the perfect reciprocal set to the Anarchy My Dear set I saw last time.
This
particular occasion, Born Ruffians played, I’m pretty sure, the EXACT same set
from the Bowery show, and most of their tour really. This typically would kind
of bum me out, but the audience reaction at Brooklyn Bowl was completely
different. The Bowery Ballroom show seemed to be PACKED with diehards, and
anytime an old song would be played, the place would go berserk!? When Born
Ruffians opened with “Badonkadonkey” the crowd was actually kind of quiet and
seemingly not very amused.
Luke
Lalonde’s voice at times can be quite shrill, especially on those old numbers.
I love it, but following some of those glossy Spinto Band songs, it kind of
echoed through the darkness with unease. I assured my friend they would “win
over the crowd.” Slow and steady, that’s exactly what the Canadian quirky
quartet accomplished, song-by-song in methodical fashion, the crowd came
around. The rallying cry this time though was the newer, more electronic, more
of today’s era cuts off 2013’s Birthmarks.
At the Bowery show, the Birthmarks songs
were certainly well received, but the anticipation for the debut album was
undeniable.
The
first three songs were off their debut EP and LP respectively. After that,
there were a number of cuts in a row off Birthmarks
that continued to gain steam with the audience. By then, the songs were
soaring, the disco ball was spinning and Lalonde was floating from stage right
to stage left and vice versa, jamming on stopping for an occasional, well-timed
“HEY!” into the microphone. It was a beautiful evening to be at Brooklyn Bowl.
Not quite as dance-y and eccentric as I would have expected, but it’s a
wonderful thing to watch a band at their craft. I don’t even know why I was
worried, or had a hint of doubt, I realize these guys are professionals and
this is what they do, but I can’t help but want good things for these guys.
If
they were born ruffians, they certainly have proven to grow up to be refined
dignitaries—gentleman of their craft.
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