On October 18th, Live4ever’s Official 2011 CMJ Showcase played host to a raucous celebration of rock n roll at the world-famous Brooklyn Bowl in New York.
From the US, Fifth Nation, 1,2,3, Le Blorr and The Dirty Grand displayed emphatically to the packed crowd what the very best of new American rock sounds like, while hometown boys FIGO‘s (pics one & two) electro-tinged rock was launched by a UK and Irish one-two of Pint Shot Riot and The Minutes.
Bill-toppers DAMNDOGS and The Duke Spirit had the unenviable task of closing the night in style, but the pair rose to both the occasion and challenge with ease as DJ sets from LA Riots, VHS Or Beta and Boyhollow guided the event through the early hours.
Relive the night by taking a look through our exclusive photo gallery, and we’ll see you at SXSW!
The Minutes displayed all the confidence of a band arriving in New York with one of the year’s best debut albums under their belt. Frontman Mark Austin is a jerky, restless bag of energy live, looking like a Wilko Johnson-possessed Marcus Mumford as he peacocks around the stage demanding full attention from the Bowl as the band rip through the aforementioned ‘Marcata‘. There’s an undeniable momentum about The Minutes right now; just a few days after their Live4ever appearance, the trio were back on a plane bound for Dublin, preparing to support one Noel Gallagher on his first solo outing. Time is relative, Einstein taught us – for a band aptly called The Minutes, it’s moving very fast indeed.
For Pint Shot Riot, debut album ‘Spell It Out‘ once again delivers the goods. The rolling, ‘Give Em Enough Rope‘-era Clash grit of ‘Somebody Save Me‘ and the geniune underground indie anthem that is ‘Twisted Soul‘ are as crowd pleasing and energy filled as ever, but it’s their new material, liberally smattered amongst the setlist tonight, which really grabs attention. Bearing all the hallmarks of a band naturally evolving through a couple of years of relentless gigging and writing, there’s a bolder, blues-tinged vibe to the fresh tracks. New layers and influences, which just bubbled under the surface on ‘Spell It Out’, are now being given the freedom to come to the fore, and Pint Shot Riot tonight tantalisingly suggest they are about to deliver something very special next time.
The Duke Spirit were headliners for a reason, with lead singer Leila Moss acting playfully devilish – posing and prowling the stage with a smile. More impressive was her voice, never falling flat and always energetic, carrying along songs which could at one moment charge forward with hard rock heaviness but pull back with easy and disarming melodies the next.
Last up, DAMNDOGS brought some Aussie sleaze to proceedings, showing off a new, fuzz-filled sound built around some serious reverb bass. Stripped back on ‘Very First Century‘ and complimented with Seventies Stones ‘woo-hoos’ on ‘Love‘, it was the perfect way to simultaneously end our string of gigs, and launch the start of late-night DJ festivities.
(Photography: Charles Poladian and Liz Lomax)