(Editor’s note: There’s a lot of stuff going on in that title, so we’ll parse it out for you to avoid confusion. We went to a show last night to see The Walkmen. They happened to be opening for Kings of Leon. Kevin and, to a lesser degree Brian, are fans of their early work. The record with the song about burning genitals wasn’t up our street, but Youth and Young Manhood stands up to close scrutiny. To sum up: We love The Walkmen and were primed to see them on Monday with no reservations. We used to love Kings of Leon, until they listened to one too many focus groups or record execs or something. We’re not trying to be “cool” by saying we don’t like the newer KOL stuff, we’re just trying to be honest. There’s a cautionary tale in there somewhere, but we’ll be damned if we know the audience for it. Secondly, the “corporate amphitheater” referred to in the title is, in reality, the “Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City.” Ugh. As if it’s not enough that the venue itself is a charmless, tent-covered parking lot, the geniuses at Live Nation opted to give it the most unwieldy, blatantly commercial name ever. So, we’re calling it “corporate amphitheater,” which is slightly softer than our original moniker: “tasteless shithole that doesn’t add anything to a live show.”)
If you’ve been with us from the start, you know of our fondness for New York City’s The Walkmen. We certainly weren’t alone in the critical world in putting 2008′s You & Me on our best of list, but it’s hard to overstate the quality of that album; the brooding sensuality, jangly hookiness and golden eared tuneful sensibility of the album as a whole, combined with the stellar songwriting on individual tracks make that record seem like one I’ve had for a decade, even though it’s only a year old. There were times before You & Me when it seemed like The Walkmen might be a bit like Antoine Walker: obviously full of potential and talent, but never able to make the leap to super-duper stardom. They lost me a little with the Lennon/Nillson thing, the second record didn’t have the pulsing manic franticness of Bows + Arrows and so on. You & Me announced that the band could put all the pieces together in stunning fashion, pumping out a great record that stands up after multiple listens. It’s hard to find a soft spot on the record, which is impressive.
On Wednesday, The Walkmen played a shortish set that started promptly at 7:45. (editor’s note: We bitched earlier in the week about bands starting shows late. Starting shows on time is almost as bad. I want a little mystery, a little anticipation. If I wanted to ride a Swiss train, I’d move to Switzerland, not go to a rock show. There’s a happy medium in there somewhere between 7:45 and 11:30. Together, we can get to the bottom of this thing.) While the tunes that the band played were roiling with turgid energy, they seemed a touch stand-offish. Frontman Hamilton Leithauser isn’t emotive on stage, opting for a kind of workmanlike demeanor. He belted out the tracks, but he wasn’t hopping around or playing into any rock star stereotypes. The rest of the band followed suit. Maybe they know the songs are good and don’t need any theatric embellishment, maybe they’re reserved dudes in general or maybe they were a touch peeved that the crowd didn’t seem to know the songs. In any event, it came off as cool; the band knew they were the coolest fellows in the place, so there was no need to pander. It takes a bit of brass to let the songs speak for themselves and that approach completely worked for The Walkmen.
The set leaned heavily on material from You & Me, although the band did dip into the back catalog for a few choice cuts. The songs that stuck with me, though, came from the most recent release. They opened up with “Donde Esta La Playa,” which made it clear early that the material was going to translate well live. Everybody in the band has talent and the songs, both here and in general, were mildly tweaked from their recorded versions; they danced nicely along the line between hewing too closely to the original and cocking it up beyond recognition. This was clear from the jangly, warbly jump. “Postcards from Tiny Islands” leaned heavily on some interesting precussion, which was a cool flourish. “On the Water” provided a clear sonic highlight when things kicked back in right before the whistling; if there was a point when the early arriving KOL fans perked up their ears, that was probably it. (There were clearly folks who rolled in expressly for The Walkmen, but they were outnumbered by meatheads. Nobody’s fault, but not so conducive for the intricate, occasionally difficult Walkmen sound.) “Canadian Girl” was just as pretty and touching live as one would expect. Despite the solidity of those songs, the clear high point was “In the New Year.” Leithauser absolutely got after the vocals in that one, throwing all of the angst and emotion in the building into the soaring chorus. It was impressive. The strength of that song probably won The Walkmen a few fans and sold a few albums at the merch tent.
We’ve always heard through the grapevine that The Walkmen bring the thunder live; word around the campfire was that the energy on the records is damn near incendiary on the stage. We were a bit bummed that the band came to town in an opening capacity to Corporate Amphitheater, but better that way than not at all. The ideal venue for this band is a place like The Beachland, where the ambiance, sound and character all combine to make shows better. Further, this is a band you don’t want to be separated from by a cadre of yellow-shirted security; a smaller venue would provide the intimacy the music demands, but such is life. The quality of the show was such that worries about shorter sets, crappy venues and the like should be discarded. The Walkmen lived up to their substantial reputation and should not be missed if they’re in your neighborhood. Despite all of the things about the show I’m inclined to be negative about, The Walkmen themselves were top shelf. Ignoring all of the external factors, they’re a drum-tight live act playing great songs. You can’t ask for a lot more than that. They will rock, circumstances be damned.
We couldn’t grab any audio, because Corporate Amphitheater sucks so hard for sound, but we do have a few live tracks we dug out of the Citizen Dick archives to pass along. They’re indicative of the work we heard on Wednesday night and should give you more incentive to get yourself to a show.
“Red Moon” – The Walkmen, London 2008
“On the Water” – The Walkmen, London 2008
Lastly, Joe at WOXY and Each Note Secure passed along a link to this gem from WOXY’s Lounge Acts series. It’s twenty seven sweet minutes of songs and interviews. If you live in the hinterlands and won’t make a Walkmen show (or are low on dough – tix in Cleveland were 48 bucks apiece – or want to relive your live Walkmen experience) it’s well worth the half hour and is available here. Do yourself a favor while you’re there and check out the rest of their material.
Post script: Kings of Leon played music as well. Some of it was palatable. We’re dedicated to being nice, so that’s as far as we’re going to go at the moment.
