Pinc's Picks

The Walkmen, Studio A, August 25, 2006

A few posts ago I ranted about Studio A turning The Walkmen's concert into a "very special invite only" performance. Somehow, the exclusivity was lifted and I miraculously secured tickets for myself and Superbee, my fellow intrepid adventurer. Details of the show to follow, but first a little about our pre-concert escapades...

We decided to meet up and have dinner in the Design District before the show. Simple enough plan, right? However, after transversing the entire area, we could not find any of the five restaurants we were interested in. This always seems to happen when I go over that way. Things that supposedly exist suddenly don't. Gigi's has closed. 190 may have been in plain sight, but we couldn't see it. The Ethiopian place? Missed that, too. Same story with Food Cafe. At least we found Charcuterie, but it's sign ("We're Open!") was just another falsehood. Before resorting to the Denny's on Biscayne, we dropped in at Stop Miami for tapas and refreshing glasses of rose. It all worked out in the end, but honestly, the Design District is simply not ever worth the effort, at least not from my experience.

Anyway, on to the show...

There were two opening bands and we missed the first. The second, Bobby Bare, Jr. , sounded good and had some pretty amusing songs (including one about how hard it is to be the Bionic Man, Steve Austin). The band also let the audience know they were in town for two days and requested a tour guide. We thought they were kidding, but sure enough after their set they were wandering the audience.

The Walkmen entered with no fanfare. They even helped to set up their own equipment. Perhaps that shouldn't seem noteworthy, but to me, this is a pretty big band. I forget that in the scheme of things, an indie rock group with bunches of albums under their belt doesn't necessarily get roadies to help out.

To get it out of my system now, I love Hamilton Leithauser. Some will tell you that I fall in love with every band's lead singer. That's almost universally true. But oh my, I am taken with this one. Tall and lanky with sandy hair and a raspy Dylan-esque voice, he drank his beer between songs and seemed like a regular guy.

I had a huge smile on my face throughout their set, and it wasn't just from looking at Hamilton. The Walkmen played great renditions of "The Rat", "Wake Up", "We've Been Had", "I'm Thinking of a Dream I Had", "Louisiana", and more from albums both new and old. I expressed in my previous posting my suspicion about The Walkmen, that they must be seen live to be truly appreciated. Turns out I was right. The slightly off-key twinkling piano, the hazy guitars, sharp drumbeats, and most of all, Hamilton's voice, are just not captured to their full effect on a record. Yes, I may be a little bit more deaf today than yesterday, but if I had to sacrifice a little more of my hearing to anyone, I'm glad it went to these guys.

posted by Danya @ 8/26/2006 09:44:00 AM