Bleached was the first to play on
the last day of January at Webster Hall.
I was curious to see them because of the media attention they have been
getting as a band to watch in 2012, but I unfortunately could only get there in
time for their final song. From
what I briefly heard, it seemed like they had been putting it all out there on
the stage that night. However, it
is what I saw that really pays respect to them—a packed room. It was probably the most crowded I have
seen Webster Hall that early in the night, so apparently their media attention
has begun reaching broader heights, and I hope to be able to catch them in the
near future.
The second band on the bill was
Porcelain Raft, a self-done electronic project by the singer/songwriter Mauro
Remiddi. He had a drummer
accompany him for the live performance as he did his thing—which was an
electronically dreamy sound that he played guitar/keyboard along with while singing in a
smooth, soft voice. The two of
them were very aware musicians, and were very particular about every little
noise that they produced. They
used several props with their instruments for unique effects, such as slightly
dangling a group of bells tied together on the surface of the drum set's cymbal. At the end of the night,
Mauro was available at the merchandise table to talk to. He had limited tour edition white vinyl
records for sale, and after talking to me for a few minutes he was nice enough
to pose for a picture (on the right).
The Smith Westerns came on as the
headliners of the night to a crowd that suddenly seemed younger, and acted a
bit more rowdy than the band’s sound really called for. It was an obvious excuse for the kid’s
with an X marked on their hands to jump up and down and try to grind on each
other. That being said, the Smith
Westerns are also just kids, but it is truly impressive how much they have
established themselves at such a young age. With two albums out, the group was recently opening for the
Artic Monkeys this past fall before they deservingly began their own current
headlining tour. The Smith
Westerns were a very professional sounding group. They played their instruments cleanly, and had a mature
sound reminiscent of rock bands from before their time. The Smith Westerns are off to a great
start and have a long and promising future ahead of them.
(All original pictures)
-JS
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