the walkmen @ webster hall

as i walked into webster hall yesterday to see the walkmen, jay told me they were three songs into their set. i hurried up to the balcony, hoping to squeeze myself into some good position for the show. from then on, i was completely mesmerized by their set. the songs just glowed and came alive -- especially the new tracks. their set was powerful -- they pulled out "the rat" and "little house of savages" fairly early, and left the audience cheering for more, to which they responded with "wake up" and "thinking of a dream i had." holy moly.

they did one encore and ended the night with "we've been had" to everyone's delight. i secretly wished they would play "french vacation"... but i have a feeling that song won't see the stage that often from now on. when they performed "louisiana," the first song on their new album, a hundred miles off, (in stores now) they brought out a couple horn players and a lively guy on harmonica. totally fun!

i'm revisiting a hundred miles off this weekend. after seeing them live, i've had the urge to let the album finally sink in. as i said, the walkmen's music usually grows on me. the subtleties are usually caught later on. but i have a feeling this third album is better experienced live so that the keys and guitar strums can shimmer all over you, and hamilton's growl can ignite you. i'm happy to say that hammy is singing more, and screeching less -- which gave the songs last night an honest soul. it was as if he was drawing from somewhere deeper than the bulging veins in his throat. instead, he was invoking from his heart, and it showed. BRAVO!!!