Show Review: Return to the Love
Review and Photography By Polina Y
You know how sometimes you see a guy and you think, damn if only you were mine, I know I could make you happy, damn you’rE so fine, so so fine. Well Bowery Ballroom is one of those clubs. i walk in and fantasize what kind of shows I can put on here, if only you were mine Bowery Ballroom aahh you’re so so sexy. Anyway it’s Sunday December 7th and I am here to see Swedish girl fronted punk group Love Is All. Opening the night is another band I am curious to see Cold Cave, and in the middle is the much hyped about Crystal Stilts.
I discovered Cold Cave through their label Dais Records which in turn I discovered because they are my friends bands (Cult Of Youth) label. Since I didn’t have anything by these guys and their Myspace tracks are quiet varied (from french sounding cold wave electronics, to glitch drone experimental, to Joy Division influenced gray post punk)i had no idea what to expect. The crowd is filling in which a bit of a surprise on a Sunday and for the opening band but I guess the word is out about these guys and you can see that quite a few people crowding up front are here just for them. Cold Cave comes on stage; three guys in dark coats, all lined up. Each with a synth, the one on the right with what looks like an electronic drum combo. Before the first note is played the mood is set, a gray, dreary, heavy feeling; and as the music begins it just gets heavier, more dense. When the music has taken you so low you cant picture going much further it explodes with drums and samples. The sound is repetitive, dreary oppressive post punk that takes you to the brink of desperation and then rips you apart with a battery of explosive noise. The set is interesting and consistent throughout and I am sure to see Cold Cave next time they play.
Cold Cave MP3s
Sex Ads
Our Tears Help The Flowers Grow
Crystal Stilts are on next. This is one of the more talked about NY bands and hypothetically should be a perfect transition between the dreary post punk of Cold Cave and the more upbeat Sixties-influenced Love Is All. In theory that is. The band is combination of Sixties garage sound and Joy Division. They sound really together, the stage show is a bit stoic and for the life of me I don’t understand why they didn’t put the most visually compelling member of the band, the girl garage drummer, up front. But this is not the problem, the problem is this just simply doesn’t work for me. Yes, if some one told me let’s combine Cramps and Joy Division and some Sixties garage I would have probably been really intrigued, but live……let me put it this way: the music is happy but I am ashamed to dance because of the funeral singing, and I cant really grieve or be depressed because of the upbeat soundtrack. I am really confused by this, okay? What should I do? Too depressing to be happy and too happy to be depressing. That said, the singer reminded me of Jim Morrison which is never a bad thing, and their recorded material does works better.
Crystal Stilts MP3
Crippled Croon
Love Is All have been getting pretty big; since the release of their second, much anticipated album A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night they are not playing small venues, it seems it’s all uphill from here on. Although this band is heralded as a rising star in the Indie scene, and at this show attracts an overwhelmingly non-alternative looking crowd, I came to see them precisely because they have an amazing early punk spirit and remind me of X-ray Spex and other early in-your-face girl fronted bands. Yet they are good musicians with a polished, sound, and though there is an undeniable Sixties fetish to their music, somehow they manage to still sound raw and new. Love Is All set lasts a bit over 40 minutes and luckily you can hear it now via a really good audio recording of the whole show on NYCTaper. The set is a mix of old and new songs, with the quirky choice of a Flock of Seagulls cover, it’s upbeat and full of energy and the gray kids finally start to dance. I try to video record the set for the blog but Bowery security actually pull me out and inform me that yes even if it is just for the blog you have to pay to video record at Bowery. Shame that there is not more video because the set is great, but I did get something pretty good and almost complete. Then the show is over, and I walk away completely happy and satisfied and still more in love with their live sets then their (also good) recordings.
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Love is All MP3s
Used Goods (First Album)
Give it Back (New Album)
Love is all Set list:
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01 Wishing Well
02 Give it Back
03 Talk Talk Talk Talk
04 Aging Had Never Been His Friend
05 Last Choice
06 Seasick
07 NYA
08 Busy Doing Nothing
09 I Ran (Flock of Seagulls)
10 Make Out Fall Out Make Up
11 Felt Tip
12 [encore break]
13 New Beginnings
