Monday, January 21, 2008

The Walkmen at Schubas - 1/20/08 - A Quick Recap

First live show of the new year for me. I skipped the first two bands, figuring I'd be there in plenty of time to get a good spot, but that turned out to be a bit of a bad move. Still weaseled my way into a good viewing are, but the place was packed when I showed up, which isn't surprising. The Walkmen can fill larger venues than Schuba's. They played a bunch of new stuff, almost half the set, and one song that I recognized at the time, but can't remember now. They played almost nothing off of Hundred Miles Off. List of what I can remember:
  1. Little House of Savages
  2. 138th Street
  3. Thinking of a Dream I Had
  4. No Christmas While I'm Talking
  5. What's In It for Me?
  6. Wake Up
  7. Another One Goes By
Set lasted roughly an hour, which wasn't surprising, because they put a lot of energy into each song, so I have to figure that takes a lot of a person. I was disappointed that they didn't play Emma, the Rat, or a lot of stuff off the last album, but I can't complain. It was an hour of solid entertainment.

White Rabbits played right before and I thought they sounded sort of Walkmen-esque, but a little more accessible. I'll check out their other stuff. All in all, not a bad start to 2008. Here's a clip someone recorded at the show of Wake Up:



And again, I'm always disappointed that I think there are a lot of people who really like that version of Another One Goes By, but who have never heard the original Mazarin/Quentin Stoltzfus version, which I think is superior. Which isn't to say the Walkmen version isn't excellent. I just don't like it as much as the original. Judge for yourself:



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

In honour of the vastly superior and original version of Another One Goes By, I have finally purchased that Mazarin CD. Only like 2 years after you did it for Song of the Day. Still like the Walkmen verson a tonne as well.

Seitz said...

May not have been easy to find. I don't what their legal status is, or what Stoltzfus is currently up to. I think I'm on their/his mailing list, but I haven't received anything in a while.

Really good album, though.

Anonymous said...

Really ya thought the Walkmen were energetic? I mean aside from Hamilton walking aback and form and occasionally clutching the microphone for a grimaced howl, was there any motion? The other guitarist looked like he was playing in a church band and the rest of the band seemed to follow suit. I was wicked disappointed. You definitely missed the best performance of the night in White Denim.

More from me on that show:

http://toomuchrock.com/shows/walkmen.html

PS Hi!

Seitz said...

Generally, compared to a lot of other acts I see, even at Schuba's, there just seems to be more energy at a Walkmen show. So relative to other acts, I'd say yeah. It always seems to me that Hamilton and Matt Barrick bring a lot to the performance.

I kind of expected to see White Denim. I figured the first act would go on at 9:00. I was a little surprised to see the set schedule when I got there.

Looking forward to the Whigs show in a couple weeks.

Seitz said...

Just glanced at your review. I think the Walkmen are kind of an acquired taste. The first album had some great songs, but was inconsistent overall. The next album had probably my two favorite songs (Savages and the Rat), and was more interesting to listen to start to finish. The last album, however, has been my favorite. There wasn't anything on it that was overwhelming (except maybe Emma, Get Me a Lemon), but I just love the whole thing.

Still, they aren't a band you can pick up and just like right away. And I can definitely see how some people wouldn't care for them.