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Live review: The Walkmen
The Walkmen first truly ascended to lofty creative heights with 2004’s “Bows + Arrows,” an effectively driving rock album with one of the decade’s best singles in the energetic “The Rat.” But they took a swerve with last year’s “You and Me,” a slower, darker, more atmospheric record which, at least on first impression, migh be a hard sell in the blazing afternoon of an outdoor festival.
Their solution seems to have been two-fold: limit the number of songs off “You and Me” in the set list, and play the songs they do play very fast indeed.
Fortunately, it paid off, leaving the Walkmen — in their second ACL festival performance — with one of the afternoon’s better straight-ahead rock shows. “You and Me” standouts such as “On the Water” and “Canadian Girl” were delivered with a greater speed and blistering vocals courtesy of singer Hamilton Leithauser. The crooner occasionally opened his mouth so wide he resembled one of those snakes that unhinges its jaw before consuming an animal much larger than its head.
The remainder of the set was taken up primarily with highlights from “Bows + Arrows,” including a rollicking version of “The Rat,” and choice cuts from other previous albums, including a brilliant version of “Louisiana” with an engaged live horn section. Audience members were even treated to a new song from the band’s forthcoming sixth studio album, an ersatz alt-country number with an ambling charm that suggests the Walkmen aren’t done reinventing their wheel just yet.
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Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: ACL 2009: Friday, ACL Festival 2009
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By D$
October 4, 2009 11:02 AM | Link to this
Does anybody know the song where the singer busted out an awesome, ~20 second, hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-stand-up, scream? Someone must know wat im talking about. kind of half way through their hour long act. Would love to know, thanks.
By marc
October 6, 2009 11:09 AM | Link to this
That’s called All Hands and the Cook