Reporting from NYC – Sneak Easy
Pictures by – Vinny “tear down that building” Sweeney
We arrived to Terminal 5 just as The Drones were going on at about a quarter ‘til 9. Didn’t know too much of what to expect from them other than the fact that they are from down-under and garner a lot of Birthday Party comparisons (never a bad thing). Nearly all 
the songs were big, mid-tempo, Gothic-garage rockers, but singer/guitarist Gareth Liddiard has the chops to match the songs, manipulating his gorgeous red Fender Mustang to the point of rendering it seemingly weightless. And his shameless use of the whammy bar hasn’t been seen in these parts since, well, maybe ever. And yes, the guy probably owns a few Nick Cave records (Bauhaus too).
Unfortunately for The Drones, I’m not sure if too many others there on Sunday do. This was a Band of Horses crowd and I doubt The Drones made converts out of too many of them while they awaited their turn to sing along to “Great Salt Lake.” That’s not to say they weren’t good – on the contrary, they were great. But, the fifty some-odd blocks from the Bowery seemed much farther and the distance wasn’t doing The Drones any favors.
Download: “Shark Fin Blues”
Purchase Albums their from ATP Recordings
Then Band of Horses, now a six piece, hit the stage looking like extras from Almost Famous. This was the third time I’d seen them since August, so I wasn’t exactly on the edge of my seat, but am certainly a fan of the new record. A very humble Ben Bridewell announced to the enthusiastic crowd that this was their biggest show ever. It was comforting to see him sincerely happy and awestruck to be playing in front of so many captive fans. You don’t see a lot of that. He wore a toothy-grin for the entire hour-plus set which was filled with nearly every song from the band’s two records (although, why do they always omit “St. Augustine”?).
The poor echo-y vocal sound that hurt The Drones, may have actually helped Bridewell’s reverb-heavy vocals. The crowd, forgetting perhaps that they were in New York, sang along, cheered, pumped fists, etc (it just occurred to me this may have been due to the fact that it was an All Ages venue). And as much as they were enjoying themselves, no one was having as much fun as the band, who were in top form, especially on “Ode to the LRC,” “The General Specific” and of course “The Funeral.”
This is almost certainly wrong:
Monsters
The First Song
Is There a Ghost
The Great Salt Lake
Island on the Coast
No One’s Gonna Love You
Marry Song
The General Specific
Wicked Gil
Ode to IRC
The Funeral
~encore~
Our Swords
Cigarettes Wedding Bands
??
Download: “The Funeral” (Off of Everything All the Time – Purchase from Sub Pop)
Download: “Is There a Ghost” (Off of Cease to Begin – Purchase from Sub Pop)
After the jump see more pics and learn why Terminal 5 is one of the best big venues in NYC…
Side note:
Despite what I’ve read, I was impressed with Terminal 5. Without question, this is the best big venue in the city. Not only would I prefer seeing a show here than at Hammerstein or Roseland, I’d rather catch a show here than at Webster (and maybe even Irving). By a long shot. Here’s what you need to know:
