The Fever @ Bowery Ballroom

New York Rawk City, a mishappen land very near and dear to my heart, has many a band hoping to not only be the next big things but also grow to be legends or classics. It's a common formula for groups here to tag along and ride the wave of whatever rock is popular NOW. It's a habit that New York, and in particular, the Williamsburg scene, has afforded bands that don't have much vision or originality. Here, bands like A.R.E. Weapons can make the Spin magazine spread for hot band lead singers, but we all know they suck and are only hyped because of the celeb connection.... But nonetheless the media feeds and dresses up these lackluster, hype-filled bands with nary a wink of lost slumber. Blogs included.

So I wasn't surprised when I got to Bowery on Friday night, hoping to have missed the ARE set altogether, and found people yelling at said band to get off stage. The hostility that the common rock fan feels toward this group seemed in unison that night, summed up in one simple phrase: "You suck." It was that phrase repeated by many that finally got ARE and their weird posse off the stage. Tell me again why their friends were all standing on the stage? Their brand of hopeless noise was enough to make my intestines twitch. Yikes.

The Fever finally got onstage and proceeded to play their album in order of the tracklisting. As lead singer Geremy Jasper stepped on stage, I could see something glimmering at me. Holy shit, he had a fucking g-fab earring on his left ear! Then he turned around and I saw even more glam shining at me -- a huge golden sequinned butterfly that seemed like it could just flutter all over the sold out crowd at the Bowery Ballroom. How fantastic! That alone got me pumped for their set, which started off with "Cold Blooded" -- whose title reminds me of a Paula Abdul song -- but seriously, the Fever are retro in such a fun, party hardy way... Then sometimes they surprrise with more heartfelt songs like "Put It On You" with parts that scream with emotion. What I kind of missed were the days when I used to go see the Fever and get doused in water or beer and get hit in the head with microphone stands. They have such a raw, unabashedly crazed energy to their music that makes them charming and almost gleeful. The spirit of fun times in New York is certainly within the Fever, and I hope they go on to charm the rest of the world as well, if they haven't already.

Then Mike and I headed over to Rothko, where the afterparty included free Sparks energy alcohol drinks (oxymoron???) and performances by Diamonds and Cheeseburger, two bands that probably should have played Bowery along with the Fever. I quickly snatched up a Sparks... And about halfway through I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. I put that shit down right away, but at least now I was awake. This was my first time at rothko, a new Lower East side rock venue that's just a bit bigger than sin-e, with three floors. The inside was all red with a spinning disco ball. And the DJ dared to play Jackson 5 back to back with Michael Jackson. Jacko love? Always. It was fucking packed in there, and I didn't exactly like the crowd. I don't know why but some of the peeps there were a lil' too trendy and swank-faced for my taste.

Diamonds finally stepped on stage and I thought they were better than I'd thought they'd be. I know Jo has been raving about them forever, and I trust her taste in music... But something in me was resistent until I saw them live. The sound at rothko was great. But the vibe was sucky. I didn't feel like anyone in the room except for the couple people going crazy in the front were really into them, which is a shame. I definitely want to check them out again. They're the kind of band that isn't exactly doing anything that hasn't been done before (and not many bands these days do), but they made good rock and weren't annoying or pretentious about it.

Christie's band, Cheeseburger, also had a similar vibe -- fun rock music about partying on Saturday night. The lead singer had on his captains hat and strutted the stage barefoot like a cross between Mick Jagger and Tim Harrington from Les Savy Fav. They were better than the last time I saw them at North Six when they played with Mommy and Daddy. I recalled visions of Christie, a dude with shoulder length brown hair, thick glasses and some kind of tropical printed loose button down, dancing like a joyful maniac during M&D's set and thinking, that guy is so fucking cool! That is a rare occurence for me in this city, but it happened that night -- and in fact happens every time I see him. Man, I hope I am spelling his name right...