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November 11, 2007

Practically Levitating. Again.

Last night I went to see the Walkmen at the Casbah. It's been almost a year and a half since the last time I saw them, and in that year and a half they have gone from a band I really like, to a band that I LOVE. Their three cds are always on top of the pile at this house.

I wrote about the last show, and I am wondering, what the hell happened since then? Why don't I write like this anymore? Why don't I hear weird conversations on the bus? Has my world become smaller, or do I just notice less? Anyway.

Last night I took the bus and there were no weirdos on it, and met Mark at the Waterfront bar and there were no weirdos there, either, though there were mass quantities of uber-normal people. Eventually we got to the Casbah where I secured my spot right next to the stage, and finally there were some weirdos - a super drunk and possibly on something else couple who cleared the entire floor with their random acts of dancing and flailing cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon. This couple, thankfully, only made it through the opening act. There was a Walkmen uber-fan standing next to us (Amber? Heather?) who had come from someplace far away to go to the California shows, but heck if I remember where from.

I wish I was going to all the California shows, because the Walkmen came on at 11:30 and proceeded to totally blow me away. They were SO GOOD. I remember the last show, and how I thought it was good but not great, but since then I have thought many times about that show, and about all five of the guys and how they played because each of them is very good and also, interesting to watch. I love Spoon the band, but it's not like I ever take my eyes off Britt Daniel too much. With the Walkmen, I want to watch all of them, all the time.

It is a bit difficult to take ones eyes off singer Hamilton Leithauser though. Somewhere along the way, this guy acquired a healthy dose of star power or charisma or whatever you want to call it. Either that or he had it all along and I just didn't notice before. Or maybe, I was so wrapped up in my obsession with Britt Daniel that I couldn't see anything else. Anyway. He is intense, he snarls and screams, he tears the place up. During the song "No Christmas While I'm Talking" he blew the first half of the song apart, then left the stage, and came back and blew it apart again without missing a beat. Amber/Heather and I looked at each other, stunned. It was an incredible moment.

They played a lot of new songs and now I can't wait for their new record to come out.

On the way home I tried to hail a cab but it was taken, but the dude in the back said get in, he can drop me then you. He was a doctor and he was wearing a turban. I wonder if you took his turban off, would his hair all fall down his back like that dude in the English Patient?

This video is a fine example of Hamilton Leithauser's intense stage persona. Awesome.

And the photo I fell in love with when I wrote about the Walkmen before.

I will never miss a Walkmen show after that. Never, never, never. My ears are ringing and my thighs are sore from pressing them into the amp, and I have a hangover and a memory. Good times.

Posted by Shannon at November 11, 2007 3:00 PM
Posted to Adventures in Rock and Roll

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