Last night I had the opportunity to catch The Walkmen at Dallas' House of Blues. The show was actually in HOB's Pontiac Garage. Best guess, there were probably no more than 200 to 300 people in attendance. Here are my thoughts about the show:* Before the show, Holly mentioned that she had heard Matt Barrick (drummer) looked like a "string puppet" on stage. After witnessing him in person, there is no better way to characterize Barrick's style of drumming than that of a marionette. He bounced back and forth as if someone controlled his limbs with a string from above. It was incredibly entertaining to watch, and Barrick is, in my opinion, the second most talented drummer I have seen in person (second to Darren King of Mute Math).
* I thought The Walkmen sound, which I would classify as "cavernous," translated well live. Paul Maroon's vintage Guild guitar (it looked like a Guild from where I was standing) had a super cool fuzzy, hollow sound. I also loved the sound of the piano within the confines of the Pontiac Garage; it carried but maintained it's antique sound.
* Hamilton Leithauser may be my favorite frontman since the turn of the century. I thought a lot about his delivery and performance after I left. Most frontmen seem to enjoy the opportunity to be watched. Hamilton Leithauser is different. He appears so comfortable and so confident on stage that you get the impression he is doing the watching. It's as if he is watches each member of the audience individually, contemplating what each is thinking at the moment. Serious swagger. I loved it.
- Joel
1 comment:
Good to see you didn't make the mistake of calling this Walkmen drummer the best you have seen live. Because I would have called you on it.
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