Live Report: Love Is All, The Knitting Factory, 3/24/06

Opening Act: I don't actually remember the name of the opening act, and as a public service to them I've chosen not to figure out what it was. They were from Toronto, that's as much warning as I can give you while still giving them some degree of anonymity. They were absolutely terrible. Screeching awfulness. Even worse, their drummer was apparently not completely socialized; throughout the three songs we watched prior to retreating to the back bar, he kept spitting in the air and pouring water all over himself. I'm not making that up. There were great geysers of spittle erupting from the back of the stage. I wonder if the rest of the band has meetings about that. "We've really got to do something about Jeremy and the spitting. Someone needs to maybe talk to him or something."

A redeeming feature: the lead singer made out with her boyfriend Jack while standing next to us during the run up to Love Is All taking the stage, so that has to count for something. In between-song banter (while the drummer dumped a bottle of water on himself) the singer told us about how Jack was her boyfriend and he had lost his backpack and his laptop and passport in a restaurant earlier that day. Hopefully he gets it back. I don't buy into all of the braggadocio about how New York is such a tough town, but seriously, I've seen Jack; he won't last long if left to fend for himself here.

caUSE co-MOTION: The second act on the bill, and an excellent one at that. That's a real hard name to write out. Very confusing, what with the capitalization and all. Anyways, they were a pleasant surprise. Punk energy, upbeat, but with surf guitar. That makes all the difference. It's surprising, because I've never heard a band with a sound like that but it sort of seems obvious when you think about it. I mean, everybody has heard a surf guitar, if only in Dick Dale and the Deltones doing "Miserlou" on Pulp Fiction. It's not some obscure sound or instrument from Outer Mongolia. And yet, this is the first of the hundreds or thousands of indie bands I've heard that incorporated surf guitar, and it definitely made them stand out. So far as I know, c-c hasn't released any proper singles or albums, but I'm fired up for them to do so. They were a helluva band and one I most definitely want to hear more from.

A slightly dissenting vote from Karen: while she liked the band as a whole, she was turned off by the lead singer's voice. We weren't sure if this was normal or if the guy had a cold or something, but he was very nasal and flat-toned. I've listened to enough indie rock and punk bands in my time that voice quality is almost meaningless to me. I can tolerate and even appreciate just about any off-key croak or growl ever layered over guitar and drums. (Call it a benefit of my apparent tone deafness.) So, while I thought the lead singer wasn't exactly a strong suit, I could overlook it. Your mileage may vary.

Love Is All: Tore it up. Just an energetic, engaging band with a lot of charisma. After "Ageing Had Never Been His Friend," I said, "These guys are FEROCIOUS." Karen said, "The lead singer is like a little anime character." And the thing is, we were both right.

For all of their energy as a live act, I have to invoke the Interpol Clause to describe their performance. I caught Interpol last year in DC on the Antics tour. They played sharp and held the stage, but I really came away from the concert impressed by the quality of their songs. I'm not an Interpol obsessive or completist, and I don't think they've yet put together an album where every single song is good, much less great. But their high points, like "Slow Hands" or "Evil" are brilliantly perfect songs. Absolutely flawless. So to some extent, it's really hard to have a bad concert when you have such good songs. Great songs + crisp performance = good concert.

So, I'm already on record as being madly in love with the new Love Is All album. It's fantastic, start to finish, and there's not a single bad song on there. Every single track is just exploding with, like, Raucous Energy. (Which is more bigger than regular Energy.) Listening to the album, it sounds like they've already captured a great live performance. So if they just played it note for note, you'd have a really good concert on your hands. The fact that they actually took it up a notch from that...well, that's what makes for a really great concert.

4 great moments that said, "This is motherfuckin' (indie) rock 'n roll!"

1. People were ululating in between songs, as a way of cheering. What does that mean? Is that a new thing? When did that happen? Anyways, it actually sounded kinda cool. Loud and all, like cheering, only more sustained and less, you know, gauche than calling out, "Woooo!!!!"

2. Love Is All, from Sweden, sang a happy birthday song for one of the guys from caUSE co-MOTION. In Swedish, so it was sort of a, you know, Swedish birthday song. The weird thing is, this isn't the first time Karen and I have seen a Swedish band sing a birthday song. It's like, just something the Swedes do or something. I guess. The Caesars did it last summer, too, only it was a different song. Yet still, apparently, about birthdays. So apparently there are multiple birthday songs in Sweden and all of their rock bands know how to play them. It's like I always say: "If I had a dollar for every time I've heard a Swedish indie rock band play a different and unique birthday song, I'd have two dollars."

3. Long line for the men's room, no line for the women's room. This has happened every time I've gone out lately. And the thing is, people were moving the process along. There was only one stall occupied by a couple of guys doing coke, the other stall and the three urinals were all about guys just doing their business and getting out. So either guys have somehow, through no apparent lack of effort, lost the ability to pee in public locations in a quick and efficient manner, or we all just have to pee more now. Whatever. Lines for the mens' room are the new black.

4. How indie rock is this? During the Love Is All show, and I swear I'm not making this up, someone threw their cardigan sweater on stage. It was beyond parody. I hope this is a new trend. Just as Rod Stewart is pelted with white cotton panties every time he steps on stage, so too should every sensitive young man with artfully disheveled hair and black horn rim glasses and a guitar be pelted with cardigans by his sexually excited fans, both male and female.