My wife says that I have a crush on Alexis from Sleigh Bells. While that may be somewhat true, there are plenty of other things that I love about Sleigh Bells and their music.
To me the appeal of their music comes from their blending of simple pop anthems, with thrash metal riffs, and beats and rhythms ranging from industrial to hip hop and back to pop and funk(adelic). Their music plucks various notes from my lifelong history as a music fan, and packages them into overdriven, irresistible 2 – 3 minute tracks that I can’t get enough of.
My discovery of the band came about via Pitchfork at the beginning of the year. I am sure this happened for millions of others also. I heard the entire album on NPR’s website and had to buy the advanced release of Treats when it came out on itunes in May. I never expected the band to come to Albany and was surprised when I saw they were playing the club only a couple minutes down the road.
The doors opened about 7:30 PM and there was a huge line outside waiting for the show (and the impending rainstorm). Luckily my friend and I bought our tickets in advance and were able to traverse a much shorter line. While waiting for the openers there was some southern hip hip playing (maybe Lil Wayne, Ludacris etc.). Then the pop tunes kicked in with Lady Gaga, Cindy Lauper, Madonna. It was a wonderful preface to the night.
Openers Ghoul Poon hit the stage about 8:30 PM and played a nice set of about 5 tunes with some video art collage being projected in the background. I enjoyed about every other song and they seemed to just be hitting their stride on the last one. If you are out and about in the capital region check em out, I heard some Joy Division and Cure inflections at points. I liked what they were doing so I bought their Bastard Sorcerer disc at the merch table (the young lady said all the tracks they played were on that one).
Next we were treated to more pop tunes. Fine Young Cannibals, Whitney Houston (i think), which then gave way to some Motown. The crowd at this point was starting to fill in and were singing along to the songs at various point. Everyone seemed to be in a great mood.
The second opener Around the World and Back were on at about 9:30 PM. They had some difficulty with the sound. The bass and the cymbals were burying the rest of their mix. They did well though and powered through about 3 or 4 tunes. The setup here was two drummers (one being more percussion), two guitar playing singers and one (very enthusiastic) bass player. It was hard to make out some of the nuances of what they were doing, so I will have to check them out again sometime when they are not under such pressure to set up, play and get off the stage.
Then more Motown and 80′s and 90′s pop tunes. A WEQX DJ (Amber I think) got up to announce Sleigh Bells at about 10:15 PM. The lights we dark, the strobes kicked in some very hard black metal proceeded to play, and faded into tolling bells and the intro riff of Slayer’s South of Heaven. Shortly after Derek Miller hit the stage with a black Jackson guitar and a jean jacket, followed by Alexis in a black leather jacket. They kicked things off with Infinity Guitars. The sound was amazingly clear and on point. I was scared that would not be the case when I saw the eight Marshall cabinets on stage. I am sure they adjusted for the venue which I thank them for.
I am not prepared to give you the entire setlist or the order. I believe the only songs from Treats not played were Run the Heart and Rachel. They did play a song I later found out may be called Holly (it is out there for download in various places). Alexis really helped get the already enthusiastic crowd moving and singing along. There was one lone crowd surfer at a couple points in the show, there was no moshing (thank god). Alexis did surf the crowd toward the end of the set. She also threw water (Poland Spring) at the crowd a couple times. So watch your cameras and phones (you should be enjoying the show any way). They played one encore at the end of about three songs. In all they probably played for 30 minutes. Seems short but they made the most of those minutes!
After the lights went up and the crowd made its way down and out the door, my friend and I made our way to the merch table. I wanted to check out the t shirts. I saw that Alexis was there greeting fans, I stopped to say thanks for coming and that I think the album is great. She was very friendly and appreciative of everyone’s comments. I bought a Gone Bass Fishing shirt (?) and got a picture with her. I did not see Derek around, it would have been cool to meet him also. We then left into the pouring rain.
There was a tweet from the Sleigh Bells account (@sleighbells) about a stolen record from their table. Some dumb bag of hair apparently thought it was free or they were entitled. Hope that does not sour the perception of this fine city. Sleigh Bells will likely become very huge and may not be able to play a venue as tiny as Valentine’s so I think the planets were aligned just right here. So next time around I hope they don’t skip over Albany. I highly recommend anyone that likes Sleigh Bells go see them, and bring someone that does not know of them.
Here are some other various internet errata I found after the show:
Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eNLIMmYX1M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JrwoXsyKfY
Pictures:
http://valentinesalbany.com/2010/10/03/sick-photos-from-the-sleigh-bells-show/
Sleigh Bells:
http://www.myspace.com/sleighbellsmusic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleigh_Bells
Ghoul Poon:
http://ghoulpoon.wordpress.com
Around the World and Back:
http://www.myspace.com/aroundtheworldandback
