The Raveonettes at Emo's [Show Review]
Though the style has exploded in the underground over the last few years, noisy and heavily distorted pop has been the Raveonettes M.O. for nearly a decade. The Copenhagen duo of Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo carved out a niche for themselves with their highly melodic cacophony back when many bands were trying to emulate The Strokes' success. Their set at Emo's last night demonstrated why they're so good at what they do, as they brought many of their best songs, alongside material from the recently released The Raven and the Grave, to engulf the venue in a sugar coated haze.
Local garage rockers Shapes Have Fangs started the evening off with a set of bouncy garage rock. Lead singer/guitarist Dustin Coffey provided simple yet effective riffs while guitarist Skyler McGlothlin stood perfectly still and plucked away. While the band had little to no interaction with the crowd, their energy was very upbeat and it wasn't hard to tell that they were having fun.
By contrast, San Fransisco band Tamaryn slowed things down considerably with their/her expansive sounding shoegaze. The New Zealand born Tamaryn sang in a deep and relatively forceful voice while staying relatively stationary except when she made gestures with her arms or picked up a tambourine. Rex John Shelverton's heavily reverberated and slow guitar lines gave the songs much of their sense of space. However, it was the punchy bass lines and pronounced drumming of the band's touring rhythm section that kept the band grounded, and it was what ultimately kept their music from wandering off. Like Shapes Have Fangs, Tamaryn were not ones for interaction with the crowd, but their set was likeable enough to where it didn't really matter.
When the Raveonettes finally took the stage, Wagner let the two touring members of the group handle the guitars while he took the microphone for Raven and the Grave's first track, "Recharge and Revolt." While he looked slightly off kilter without his weapon of choice, Wagner still convincingly played front man while Foo picked away on her bass. From there, with a guitar back in Wagner's hands, the band went into another new track, the Foo-led "War In Heaven." Both songs were plenty loud and filled with large amounts of distortion, and they helped to showcase the kind of hooks and pop sentiments for which the band is known.
Having two other members of their live setup, who alternated between guitar, percussion, and bass, allowed Wagner and Foo the freedom to play to their strengths. Wagner knows how to write a good guitar riff, and at Emo's he was just as effective as he is on record. He was also accompanied by his idiosyncrasy of bobbing back and forth while playing, an odd yet endearing gesture. Meanwhile, Foo demonstrated that she is a very talented bass player, her lines giving the layers of haze an extra punch alongside the post-punk percussion. To top it all off, both Wagner and Foo harmonized exceedingly well on the majority of the songs. Though their vocals would occasionally get overpowered by the music, they still managed to penetrate it in the end. Additionally, their light show lent an extra bit of mood to their songs. The entire band sounded focused and tight throughout their set, something that is no doubt the product of being together for nearly ten years.
While they played nearly half of Raven and the Grave, which features a more dark and gloomy sound exemplified by songs like "Apparitions" and "Evil Seeds," The Raveonettes pleased their excitable fans be delving deep in their back catalog. As a result, the set proceeded like a greatest hits revue with new material sprinkled in. Old standbys like "Here Comes Mary" and the jangly "My Tornado" were accompanied by early favorites "Love In A Trashcan," and "The Love Gang," Several of their late career hits were also present, including the insanely catchy "Heart of Stone," "Lust," and "Dead Sound."
Upon finishing their main set with new track "My Time's Up," the band gave the audience members a chance to relax their ears before coming back onstage. Foo took the mic for the haunting "Forget That You're Young" before the band closed out the night with "Aly, Walk With Me." When the final notes had been played, the band applauded the audience for coming out to see them, a signifier of their appreciation for those who embraced their sound. While many people surely left Emo's with temporary hearing troubles, the quality of The Raveonettes' show was such that some slight discomfort was but a small price to pay.
The Raveonettes: [official]
Shapes Have Fangs: [official]
Tamaryn: [facebook]
