We Are Scientists Show Review

By the time Sunday night rolled around and I found myself plodding up the stairs to the Brillobox’s second floor, I was a fairly large shell of the human that left his office Thursday evening.  The weekend was long and wet; the city felt covered in sweat for the better part of 72 hours and I constantly felt the sting of perspiration in my eyes.  The crowd felt heavy and many were still drinking booze at 10:30 on a Sunday night; effectively giving the middle finger to the sticky work week ahead.

The room was thick with a haze of… something: irritation, excitement, the collective heat of the city’s black top… I’m not sure. In the middle of this indecipherable urban cloud,  We Are Scientists managed to put on a show that hit pleasure centers I either forgot about or didn’t know I have, transplanting me back to 2003 (my senior year ofof high school) when the sound of New York (Interpol, The Strokes, The Rapture) was literally everywhere.  The thrashing baselines, stomping percussion and ringing guitars of the Brooklyn three-piece coalesced into a slick, indie-disco shit storm, making the heat of August in Pittsburgh, for one moment at least, an integral piece to a seriously fun night. Continue reading

We Were Promised Jetpacks Show Review

Photo by Hugh Twyman

We Were Promised Jetpacks possess probably the most thematically loaded band name in the pantheon of indie rock.  While FatCat label mates (and notable influences) Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad also have names that emote in strange ways,  ”We Were Promised Jetpacks” is practically a short story in four words;  an absurdly funny/sad thesis statement for a band known to punctuate their most heart wrenching and sprawling compositions with a wry smile ripe with bracing wit.

After witnessing WWPJP play their first concert ever in Pittsburgh last Thursday at Mr. Small’s, it’s obvious the Edinburgh group’s particular brand of concision doesn’t simplify their music and emotions so much as focus them. What resulted was a blistering wall of potent indie rock that proved to be epic beyond the usual anthemic signifiers of surging guitars and sing along choruses.  Lead singer, guitarist and main songwriter Adam Thompson engaged the audience with his quietly devastating stage presence, blunt lyrics and steely dynamic musicianship, subtly revealing a performance of grand romantic gestures from a truly charismatic man. Continue reading

Sleigh Bells Show Review

I want to get right into this.  I don’t usually write show reviews of bands I have already previewed, but I couldn’t help myself.  Sleigh Bells tore through their set at CMU’s CFA Alumni Concert Hall (not Rangos, like I originally reported) in roughly 33 minutes.  They played all five songs I came to know and love plus three new ones.

What resulted proved to be the sonic equivalent of a shotgun blast set to a Bomb Squad production with a femme fatale narrating the destruction. Without any reservation I can say it was the best concert I have seen this year. Continue reading

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