It was a good night for rock in Cleveland. Our fair city rallied around New York’s Harlem Shakes, turning out in droves despite the late cancellation of headlining act Tokyo Police Club. It made us remember that we’re a pretty hip place; the scenesters tapping their toes to (in our estimation) this year’s most potentially explosive indie pop act didn’t care that the top of the bill was out of commission. In turn, Harlem Shakes rocked without exception or apology. Their set was chock full of hooks and blazing energy.
Openers Ruby Coast hail from Toronto, and although they’re on their first US tour, they certainly didn’t act like it. The five piece played a short set of four or five songs, highlighted by pounding percussion and swirling pop keyboards and vocal hooks. In one of the coolest things we’ve seen on stage in a long while, the band proudly displayed their name via an old school Lite Brite. We came to the conclusion that this toy store cult favorite is pretty fitting. Their accessibly candy-like chops were nuggets of bright lights on the bare Grog Shop canvas.
Ruby Coast got the crowd in the right mood: folks were ready to shake it around when Harlem Shakes took the stage. They played a very forward looking set, focusing on new material, with the exception of “Carpetbaggers” from their debut EP. It was clear from the jump that the band knows the songs are good. While, ostensibly, they were playing material that the world won’t hear until March 24, it didn’t really matter. They approached the material with a verve and swagger that roped the crowd in; it was irrelevant that the songs were new – you can’t help but clap your hands and nod your head when a track like “Nothing But Change” kicks in. We’ve written before about the sonic fireworks of the new record and that came blasting through the Grog’s speakers.
The songs we loved the most on the record were also the songs that we loved the most live. “Winter Water,” which bass player Jose Soegaard told us was one of the last songs to make it onto Technicolor Health, tore the roof down; it’s meandering middle portion was a beautifully controlled freakout. Before the set, guitarist Todd Goldstein mentioned that this tour was all about fine tuning the live performances of the tracks, but it’s clear that they’re not going to need much time; things already seemed pretty locked up. Case in point, the album’s title track has only been performed a few times, but they scorched it live. High peaks of the night were the layered jams of “Strictly Game” and “Sunlight,” the latter of which strikes us as an almost pure dance song. (Mrs. Citizen listens to that one when she rolls out of the rack in the morning; it’s like audio caffeine.)
The Harlem Shakes set was a slice of pie, but when singer Lexy Benaim declaimed that “they had a few tricks up their sleeves,” the audience sensed that the band was reaching for the vanilla ice cream to top things off. On cue, the healthy Tokyo Police Clubsters stormed the stage for a raucous version of “Your English Is Good.” Jose told us afterward that the Shakes had learned the song that afternoon when it became clear that they would be headlining, but it seemed like they’d been playing it for years. It probably helped that the entire crowd raised their voices for the chorus and that there were a dozen musicians on stage. They closed with a loving rendition of the Clash’s “Train in Vain.” Joe Strummer’s smiling somewhere, as the fifteen or so indie rockers on stage squeezed all of their remaining energy into that track. There were dudes playing tambourines on wine bottles and shouting the lyrics into whatever they could find. It was a top-notch, kind of hipster jamboree. It was a fitting end to a brilliant evening.
We’ve got a new piece of electronic fun at Citizen Dick and, thanks to the nice people at Olympus, can share a live song. I’ve got fat thumbs, so I missed the first fifteen or so seconds and I forgot that I was recording and sang “slack-jawed by the speakers” out loud, but, if you weren’t in the house tonight, this ought to give you a sense of what you missed. Although our day jobs forced us to bail on the after-party invite, we’re relatively certain the guys from all three bands were up well into the wee hours on our near east side. Harlem Shakes and Tokyo Police Club storm our state’s capital tomorrow and continue west from there. Treat yourself to a night out.
“Sunlight” – Harlem Shakes – Live at the Grog Shop
Click here for more pics from the show.
Click here to pre-order or buy Harlem Shakes at Insound
