The Lord Henry Puts on a Bloody Good Show

The Lord Henry is one of Austin’s best yet severely under-appreciated bands. Austinist has been in the enthusiastic - albeit, small - audience at three of their most recent shows. An intense Saturday night performance at Stubb’s solidified their standing as one of our city’s most promising young bands.

Allow us to rewind slightly, for it would be unfair to continue without praising the first band on the bill, Black Tie Dynasty. Prominent fixtures of the Dallas music scene, the boys of BTD reminded us just how lucky you can get when you show up early. Imagine a band being compared to Morrissey or Joy Division and actually deserving it. Too good to be true? Feel like the hype over Elefant left you high and dry? Lead singer Cory Watson's minimalistic (see "tasteful") guitar playing and confident voice mixes with an equally talented rhythm section to create tangible atmospheric rock. We hope they return to Travis County soon.

Fortunately, The Lord Henry is here to stay. Made up of brothers Clinton and Graham Piper, Billy Potts and Spencer "Ausberger" Sharpe, the stereotypical Strokes reference is impossible to avoid. Yet Clinton’s "Let It Be"-era-Replacements vocal inflections coupled with Billy’s tasteful use of the electric drum pad achieve a balance that is neither overtly Julian nor Paul. Plus they rock harder. Way harder.

Franz Ferdinand-esque dance rockers are a dime a dozen, yet TLH made it difficult for even the most jaded hipster to stand still. Visually, Clinton’s charmingly pompous demeanor and signature military jacket only add to the aural stimulation. And the recent addition of Sharpe to their original lineup has proven to be a wise decision as he has continued to play in the pocket and compliment their sonic landscape since his inception in the group.

Good shows are rarely free, and occasionally the band must ante up as well. While the patrons of Stubb’s relinquished a small fee at the door, Clinton sacrificed something more valuable: his fingers. Upon close inspection of his guitar at the end of the show, we noticed the pick guard on his Stratocaster was spattered with blood. Evidently Clinton lost or broke his pick at some point in the set, yet continued to play at the expense of his right hand. Bloody awesome my Lord, bloody awesome.

Written by guest contributor Aust

*Image from The Lord Henry's MySpace page*