Sleigh Bells: Slays Crowd

Hey folks! So my empty weekend ended up filling up last minute and left me with zero time to take care of my chores/errands let alone a blog post or two.

I had the benefit of being able to go to two very fun shows in less than a week. The first of which was Sleigh Bells at Rock and Roll Hotel. If you're in the habit of reading the music blogs or really any kind of music periodical you've likely heard of this duo out of the mecca of new music that is Brooklyn. They've got a similar style to that of another rocker duo I love, The Kills. They're known for their almost storybook origins and VERY LOUD brand of electropop. Derek Miller from the hardcore band, Poison the Well met Alexis Krauss of the girl band, Rubyblue while Miller was a server for a table where Alexis was sharing dinner with her mother. Shortly after they started working together and the rest, as they say, is history.

I was using the restroom upstairs and caught a glimpse of Allison coming out of the backstage area to use the restroom herself (apparently she jumped the line, albeit apologetically, in front of my friend). She peeked her head out and the playful look on her face against all that black and the severe bangs matched up with the juxtaposition of the band's incredibly loud guitars and beats against the super clean and clear vocals ringing above.

The venue space was packed like crazy. It's normally tight in there, but even with merch table moved upstairs I found myself shoulder to shoulder with some very butchy lesbians (which were out en force that night) that were awaiting the show as eagerly as I. The always hot Rock and Roll Hotel was exceptionally sweltering due to the sheer volume of people.

The show opened with a truly raucous metal instrumental, followed keenly by the opening track off their debut album, Tell 'Em. The crowd erupted into a frenzy of dancing and writhing bodies (it was like a hipster version of that scene in Black Snake Moan). It pretty much stayed that way for the whole concert with Krauss bouncing around like a fanciful sprite while Miller thrashed back and forth with his guitar. The tempo only slowed for a moment for what I consider to be this summer's best song, Rill Rill (Ring Ring). The amount of jumping and gyrating with kids that were too cool for school bobbing their heads in the way only disinterested hipsters can.

The band took an ever so short break before returning with the an encore starting with super distortion heavy Straight A's before finally closing with (what I thought could be a great opener, but apparently an even better closer) Crown on the Ground. I found myself pogoing with the afore-mentioned lesbians and my friend. If a band gets me pogoing, then they've got a real fun sound. CHECK THEM OUT!!

My only criticisms of the band are two-fold. They suffer from Vampire Weekend syndrome in that they have an incredibly short discography and need to beef up their show. Unrecorded songs, covers, and banter! For the love of Pete, banter! Which actually plays into my other criticism of the show. A band this young, and playing to such a judgmental crowd needs charisma to sway the crowd when music isn't enough (lucky for them it is).