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March 27, 2006
Love is All - Live at the Knitting Factory, New York City, 3.24.2006
By the time Love is All finally started their set at a sold out Knitting Factory in New York City Friday night it was probably between 1:15 and 1:30 A.M. I don't know if the late start had allowed anticipation to reach dangerous levels, or if the resulting derangement had more to do with the added number of drinks that the prolongued wait afforded, but from the onset this show was remarkable in its energy.
Lead album track, "Talk Talk Talk Talk," started things off in an immediately visceral fashion. Singer Josephine Olausson exuded a breathless warmth, striking her cowbell, and yelping her lyrics in a charming Scandinavian lilt. The track recalled the rough edges of pre-Fever Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but with a brightening influence from the well utilized horn and backing vocal. Depite an anti-social lyrical ("I can't stand other people! / Please leave me alone!) the effect was somehow friendly and inclusive, deeply felt in an audience barely contained in its devotion.
Mimicking their album placement, "Ageing Had Never Been His Friend" followed. It takes about nine words for this one to kick up the pace and begin piling on the trademark layers of horn, guitar, simple rythym, and shouted vocal. The fist pumping and borderline moshing might have commenced on word three. The repeated phrase "fresh and young" would have been an apt descriptor for the mood of the room, as even drowsy office drones such as myself were swept up in the frenzy. When an also rambunctuous version of "Used Goods" had seen it's final keyboard pulse, the screaming adulation was stunning. From the giggly enthusiasm on stage, it seemed the band was just as surprised as their reputedly jaded NYC crowd. Taking a moment for earnest thanks, you might have thought this'd be time for a breather.
Cue the buzzcut riff of perhaps their purest rock moment, indie DJ lament, "Spinning and Scratching." As the song bounded forth on a wave of Ba Ba Ba and velvet horn stabs, the floor of the Knitting Factory buckled into a liquid bounce of its own. One of those moments when it feels like the whole venue is going to cave in, and instead of taking it easy, you just start hopping like mad. Let's crash this place out for indie pop, Motherfucker!
Such was the pandemonium that the intended pogo respite of stately ballad "Felt Tip" erupted into crowd surfing. Not during the song's build to climax when the tempo picks up mind you, but right at the beginning, in the duet between Josephine's wide eyed vocal and the isolated bassline. When the pace did pick up again (perhaps a bit early due to collective bit-chomping) so did the fist pumps, carrying into the dizzy rallying call of "Busy Doing Nothing."
After a well received new song, the set proper ended with an ecstatic sing-along of "Make Out Fall Out Make Up" (with more crowd surfing, just for good measure). For a Swedish band on a small (but local) label, playing their first marquee venue show in NYC, to hear the words of their just months old album shouted back to them with such force must have been quite the thrill. Josephine's glowing smile, and adorably accented "Thank you so much" was an immediate confirmation. A short set at 8 songs and about 30 minutes that somehow left no one dissatisfied, my unheeded yells of "Motorboat!" not withstanding.
They took the stage sheepishly for the encore, Josephine blushing at the ardor that mandated their return. After thanking us, "so much," once again she played a "very old one." This I didn't recognize. From her previous band Girlfrendo perhaps? Regardless of my ignorance, it was a typically up-tempo pop number that saw Josephine spend most of her time trading lines with guitarist Nicholaus Sperding. As the energy levels continued to point deeply into the red, it could have been "My Humps" and still received a hero's welcome.
Next and last, Love is All ripped through their album's closing blast, "Trying Too Hard." It was sloppy and catchy in a way that made you glad to be in attendance and sorry to see its creators wrap up, whether the ol' Swatch read 2:15 or not. "I was trying way too hard!!!" went the refrain. Funny sentiment from a band that just effortlessly killed the room.
Posted by Jeff Klingman at March 27, 2006 10:00 AM
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"Yeah, it was a blast from the start, and miraculously not dissappointing for a set that lasted barely 35 minutes+. Was hoping for 'Motorboat' but it might have triggered a chain of head explosions." [Merry Swankster] * click pic... [Read More]
Tracked on March 28, 2006 12:31 AM
Comments
Great reading, keep up the great posts.
Peace, JiggaDigga
Posted by: JiggaDigga at April 7, 2006 12:58 AM
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