Bravely Go Where Many Have Gone Before

Ash / The Bravery / The Crimea
The Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
March 11, 2005>
So I'm kinda bored with the new stuff in Rhapsody right now so I thought I'd play a little catch-up and finally post about the show I went to about a month ago. I was looking forward to this one since The Bravery is one of the current "it" bands, I was enjoying the new Ash CD, and I really love The Crimea's EP Lottery Winners on Acid. Unfortuanately, The Crimea had already started playing by the time we got there, but we still got to see a decent amount of their set. Lead singer definitely has charisma, but it certainly seemed that they were trying to weird-out the trendy crowd that had shown up to see The Bravery. Very intense, very noisy, very jerky, in their own little world. I would love to have seen more but they played a short set. I love their recorded stuff so much but will have to see them again live to really get their vibe. Hope I get the opportunity soon.

The Bravery played 2nd and man, what a walk down memory lane. My friend and I couldn't stop laughing at how plucked from the early 80's they were, right down to their haircuts and their incessant posing. The lead singer continually put his foot up on the monitor and leaned forward, wailing into the mic... something he must have learned in "How to Be a Rock Star: 101." I swear it seems that some record executive, after catching wind of this "New, New Wave" movement, went out and created the "perfect" new wave revival band. For me, it was all too much and I just couldn't get into their stuff. Just too put on and seemingly insincere. The guitarist even wore a face paint, a la Adam Ant... By the way, after seeing this show I REALLY wanted to hate their album but so far, it's not so bad. Just so long as I don't have to look at them while I listen to their music, I guess...

The Ash, for me, was a lot more enjoyable and certainly a lot LOUDER. They certainly got the "rock out" bug lately as their live show matched their latest release, Meltdown, in shear drive and true hard rock vibes. Even their older, punkier stuff came off as more rockin' in this show. They've been around a while, but their energy levels are certainly not decreasing. A good bit of the audience was very familiar with Ash, and sang along to many of their older tunes. All-in-all a good time. Definitely recommended.

Click on the picture above to be taken to a little photo album of the show. My camera phone is really crappy so don't expect much.