Do Make Say Think
8 out of 10 - Great. Good show.
Friday, September 14, 2007
New York Society for Ethical Culture
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It’s a known fact that there are certain groups of New Yorkers who wouldn’t be caught alive (or dead) below 14th Street. You know the kind. They prance their poodles down Central Park West and damn if the collars draped around the pooches necks don’t cost more than I make in an entire year.
There’s an equally stubborn group who swear that they never travel above 14th Street. You know them too. They bump into you on the street. But you forgive them as they yell out “Sorry, man!” or “My bad, Dude!” After all they have a lot to do – what with the white ear bud of the new iPod nano shoved into one ear while an iPhone is practically attached to their other ear.
It was only a matter of time before these two groups were brought into contact but, who would venture out of their turf first? It’s the iPod generation! And, you know only one thing could make them do it – music!
At 6:30 on a Friday September 14th, the place to be wasn’t at a venue on the lower east side but at the New York Society For Ethical Culture on 64th and Central Park West (gulp!) where the Wordless Music Series opened their second season with an exhilarating show from headliners Do Make Say Think and their opener Electric Kompany. As a line of indie kids snaked around the block, the poodle walkers got very nervous. They can relax though; we won’t invade until the next Wordless gig.
Inside, the near-capacity crowd crammed into the wooden pews as Electric Kompany tuned up. The band was solid on their suite/political rant that featured the voice of George Bush slowed down and distorted until he sounded like a warped record. Fitting, ha?
The crowd was pretty quiet to begin with in between sets but when the Canadian ensemble Do Make Say Think took the stage you could have heard a pen drop. There are lots of reasons for the awed silence – the semi-church setting, the fact that the band’s one of the many Broken Social Scene offshoots and, it was just fun to watch the eleven piece band arrange themselves like musical preachers on a new kind of pulpit.
Supposedly, getting Do Make Say Think to play the series was a year in the making but they didn’t disappoint with their grungy pop melodies creating a modern wall of sound with never-ending crescendos and flourishes. With the lights dimming red at times and the guitars pounding, the place began to rock in what was probably an unethical way – but it was truly exciting.
The crowd remained seated for most of the show and it was one of the rare opportunities to actually listen to and almost study the sound. You didn’t have to worry about dodging the guy pogoing in front of you or getting caught up in lyrics that remind you of your ex. There was truly nothing to get in the way of the music.
Of course though, you can only study in rapturous silence for so long before you have to rock out. By the end of the night, the crowd was on their feet and clapping as the band tore it up for the last few songs of their passionate set.
I’m a big fan of lyrics. I even buy books of lyrics but after one night at the Wordless Music Series, I want them gone. Dear Mr. Jobs, do you think you could come up with a way for me to listen to my favorite iTunes tunes without the words getting in the way?
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