hooray for earth/unbusted, 06.28.06, pianos

i'm not gonna lie. i'm going to be honest and upfront and claim right here and now that i'm biased about these guys. i'll try my best to keep an objective view while talking about their show, but it's going to be hard because they are all so freaking cool. i was the girl in the front taking pictures after all (groupie 101: become the [hand-held digi] photographer. then if you take a few good ones, they owe you a beer).

austin, tx is so f'in weird.
i met hooray for earth this past march in a completely different part of the country. that completely different part was austin, texas, which is the wierdest capital city for a state ever, but only because it's too awesome for people like me, a northern, 20-something music snob. it is nothing else like the rest of texas, yet it is texan in most of its elements. go there some time and shop for some vintage but don't have the italian food, even if random strangers on the street tell you they know of a good place for pasta. they don't know what they're talking about.

anyway, i was invited to attend the blender party by the lovely jamie, and it was while i was standing at the foot of the stage during spoon that i bumped into a few of the members of hfe. when we realized that we were to be foot-of-the-stage buddies, the bassman and quintessential pr guy gave my cousin shaina and me their demo. key moment, right there. when i got back from sxsw 5 days later, i popped it into my computer and was hooked. we'll get into the reasons why in a bit.

while at sxsw, they also toured with unbusted, and i have something to say about them too, which is nice.

can i have some pianos with my beer?
it's a wednesday night at the end of june on the lower east side. we all know pianos. it's kind of scrubby but since it has shows it's where a lot of people go to be hip and cool and have some booze. we like it. i also like how when i run to a random atm i see mike myers on the street and totally act cool like the typical new yorker i am even though i am peeing my pants on the inside.

unbusted
speaking of unbusted, they rock. they're up there with the alterna-indie guys that we know you know i know and love. you can tap your foot to it in my favourite style, which is the back-heel method (you know, where your whole leg moves and the other stands straight and you look like you fucking know what you're tapping about. hells.yeah.). essentially, i've really got to start researching them a little more. while i wouldn't say they blew my mind, i would stress that they just might have the potential to in a bit, and that excites me. come august 19th, they're back in the city at r&r. i'll have to make sure i'm around for that one, and then i'll have more to say on all of them.

hooray for earth
alright, let's get ready to rumble.

considering these are boys from boston, i'm impressed by the amount of people that were there. granted, they were part of a whole showcase of bands that the bassist, chris principe, helped organize, but nonetheless, the crowd knew the words, knew the songs, and were having a great time. i was foot-tapping and dancing.

hooray for earth is an interesting band. their sound is a mix of crunch rock guitars and poppy synths. while i'm not so sure i would go as far as they go with their description (blur, nirvana, and.. enya?) i will concur that it's something a little different from the everyday. if i personally had to describe what their sound was, i'd liken it to blur (i'll give them that) and a laptop-induced schmear of depeche mode and the cure (the irony in the lyrics helps out, too). i'd also say it's a little like head automatica, what with a lot of the characteristics of shoegaze, but they'd kill me. so i won't.

as far as the technical portion, they have their stuff together. noel heroux, the vocalist, and chris principe, the bassist, had been playing in raymond, before it was reincarnated into hooray for earth, since the late 90's. all members are comfortable with their respective instruments and i have to say, watching the drummer, seth kasper, is pretty fun.

there were some minor technical difficulties during "so happy," but they quickly adjusted and everything went smoothly from there on out. they played my favourite song, "simple plan" second, and it was like buttah.

i've heard their shows in boston, where their following is considerably more noticeable, are even more entertaining. taking into account that their venue was pianos this time around, i'm not going to take points off for showmanship. they got me raring to go even with out the usual stage antics, and the crowd seemed to go right along with me. hopefully someday i'll be able to go into boston and see them on their own turf. that will be a fun day.

i've been told they'll be back in nyc come august. keep your eyes peeled, and visit their myspace if you have a minute or 16 to spare. and don't forget unbusted. they're just as wickedly awesome.

/jen/


up next... kevin devine and the goddamn band