Battle of the Bands: Vocal Distortion Edition would be a great way to describe this show and honestly it's the only thing these four bands had in common.
I got there pretty early and for good reason, Popo was playing. These dudes have played a few shows out in deep Brooklyn and they're good. Wednesday night was no different. They play high energy punk and had the Ballroom packed, which is not easy to do when you're the first of four bands.
My only negative thing is that they have a song that has the exact same riff as "Nervous Breakdown" by Black Flag. When they started playing that I actually started singing along and then realized they weren't. So yeah, let's scrap the Black Flag knock off song, otherwise good shit - as always.
Next up was Real Estate, whom I've seen once before in a similar situation. Here's the thing about Real Estate - they're super fucking mellow. Like drink a jug of red wine, eat ten pot brownies, and take a toke off an opium pipe mellow. So why is it these dudes always play AFTER fast punk bands? Honestly I think I like them but I'm always so worked up from the opener and then they come on and bore the shit out of me. Again, it's weird because I dig their music it's just that it's a tough transition to go from pogoing to sitting on the floor vibing.
Woods was next up on the bill. I didn't know much about them before-hand, aside from seeing their names on Todd P bills at far off DIY venues. I had no expectations and that's probably good because they were pretty weird. The music was interesting and they had this circus gimp dude writhing on the floor screaming into a pair of rigged headphones. On the floor in front of him were a bunch of pedals he was using to manipulate the fuck out of his vocals. It was kinda cool really. But again, Popo set the mood for me and these kids were also kinda mellow so I couldn't get into it.
From what I've heard of Wavves I wasn't sure what to expect. I mean I thought they were kinda punk but then the fact they have Woods and Real Estate opening for them made me think I may have been misled. Well, they quickly affirmed their punkness when they opened with "Nervous Breakdown" by Black Flag. Sound familiar? After the first few chords I was like, "Oh shit, these dicks ripped off Black Flag too?", and then the vocals came in and it was actually the real "Nervous Breakdown". It was a killer cover (and likely a jab at Popo) and it was a great way to wake everyone the fuck up. A pit instantly formed and did not die down for the rest of the set.
That's pretty much all it took for me. I was sold after that. The originals that they followed with were all in the same spirit. People were jumping around going crazy. It was super fucking fun. My single complaint with Wavves is the vocal distortion is too much. I dig vocal distortion but when no one can understand what you're saying between songs it's too much. Otherwise Wavves play this very So-Cal sounding brand of garage punk. Lots of Agent Orange and Black Flag can be heard and then a little modern indie is thrown in to keep the youngsters interested. I'm just super bummed that I didn't go see them at Market Hotel.
Wednesday night could have been two awesome shows but instead it was one mediocre event. Popo and Wavves whould have played a show together and the same goes for Real Estate and Woods, both would have been cool shows. But sandwiching Real Estate and Woods between two upbeat punk bands is just dumb. It totally ruined it for me. I still left happy after seeing Wavves but it was just a weird night overall.
Wavves
