Glassjaw, Tidal Arms, These People @ Best Buy Theater 1.1.11
Sunday, January 2, 2011 at 6:02 PM Glassjaw (Photos by Dan Bassini)
Tidal Arms
These People
By Jason Stives
The night after one of New York City’s trashiest displays of decadence, the city streets turned to musical devotion as a sold out crowd of 3,500 marched into the Best Buy Theater in Time Square to see Long Island hardcore outfit Glassjaw start off the New Year right. As the crowd waited for the show to start I couldn’t help but worry about setting expectations into motion. Glassjaw has one of the most astounding fan bases I have seen in my almost 15 years of concert viewing as they can be easily alienated by the bands sudden disappearance for years on end but as always wait with anticipation for their return. For a band that hasn’t released an album in eight years, every performance is treated as a new beginning to the fans and upon seeing the crowd in attendance it was evident that that’s what mattered the most and that expectations mean nothing. The show started off a bit sluggish as the first opener, Long Island quintet These People, left quite an air of mystery over their 6 song opening set. Untitled numbers and a rough mix of musical styles made the group a fitting opener for Glassjaw but not good enough for a repeat performance in the eyes of the eager crowd. While the first acts frantic pace kept the crowd interested if not confused, the somber opening of Brooklyn psych rockers Tidal Arms set left some fans murmuring in the crowd the words Kings of Leon. However these misjudgments in style were thwarted immediately as the band plowed through a thunderous and at time unimaginative display of poise and precision. For a band that has been together for a very short time the group demanded attention with fantastic performances from drummer Francis Mark and bassist Patrick Southern. Lead singer and guitarist Tom Tierney proved hypnotically frightening as he began the night with such gentle vocals only to crank it up a couple notches on each song to almost dark and brooding levels by the time the band left the stage to a respectable applause. As 10pm struck the soft taps of the drum kit signaled the appearance of Glassjaw and for those familiar with the bands live act knew that the taps were going to set into motion the track (You Think You’re) John Fucking Lennon, a track that almost instantly greets the bursts of energy that both the band and the crowd were dying to release. While the heat was there and the crowd in attendance surely felt it, there was a bit of restraint on the part Daryl Palumbo and company as the normally energetic group kept to themselves and let the music do the talking instead of their actions. Palumbos lion like screeching vocals were in attendance but nowhere near the strength they usually are (see the Brixton Academy bootleg from 2007 for a more accurate understanding). However it became evident that a band like this knew exactly what they wanted and the fine art of subtly in the bands appearance and not their performance allowed fans to do what Glassjaw so obviously wanted to do and that was blow the roof off the venue. Plowing through a set comprised mainly of tracks off 2002s Worship and Tribute (Pink Roses, Tip Your Bartender, Gillette Cavalcade of Sports) and songs from the bands new released 5 song EP, Our Color Green (Stars, Natural Born Farmer) the band didn’t let up and on a dimly lit stage no end was in sight. With a lack of aura in the lighting, the fans that thrashed and sang along were displayed by available camera and cell phone lights from people capturing the moment in progress. After closing out an explosive 17 song set with fan favorite Siberian Kiss, the band reemerged from backstage to offer a New Years greeting of three new tracks from what Palumbo deemed a forthcoming album. The new tracks, Black Nurse, Vanilla Poltergeist Snake, and Miracles in Inches left the devoted fans clamoring for more. However, like the fellow partygoers from the previous night, many left exhausted in an almost walk of shame like fashion. But regardless of a lack of presence in the bands performance the ruckus crowd reminded us what devotion is all about and that sometimes at a show like this, the lunatics need to run the asylum.
Reader Comments (3)
Surprised they picked to unknown openers.