Guided By Voices and the Strokes
Apollo Theatre, New York (December 30, 2001)
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Guided By Voices
Apollo Theatre, New York
December 30, 2001 |
It was a similar day in late November when a visit to the site brought news of GBV's New Year's Plans. New York City again! Oh, how fun it is to live in this town when you love live music. And it didn't stop there. NYC buzz-band of the millenium Strokes were opening, and Mr. Show fave David Cross hosting the show at Harlem's historic Apollo Theater! I wouldn't miss it for the world.
And I didn't, although myself and my compadres were nearly waylaid by one of the worst TicketMaster experiences ever (they canceled our order days before the show cuz a friend was out of the country and uncontactable...yes, yes, we all know the machine sucks). Obstacles be damned, however, I was comfortably in the aisle seat of the sixth row Dec. 30 when the funny-but-out-of-place Cross gave way to Julian Casablancas and co., and all was right with the world.
Now: the Strokes are kids. They are young, and inexperienced, and not neccesarily worthy of all their hype. We all know that. But also: they rock. The kids have a handful of great songs, and all were given a stellar treatment by the brash quintet, which collectively had both a lot of hair and a high blood alcohol content. Casablancas kept falling off the stage and cursing like a middle-schooler in between delivering his lyrics to the patently adoring crowd. The rest of the band stayed pretty much in their place during their sets (yes, plural -- i'm getting to that), but rocked with enough conviction to keep the venue on its feet, entertained to the max.
The night's setup was unusual, and welcome, in that the Strokes gave way to GBV after only six songs, only to regain the stage for a second set before GBV's big set finale.
Guided By Voices have yet to put on a bad show in my presence, and on New Year's Eve eve, that was not an option. The group was in good spirits (and presumably had good spirits in them, as well -- I spied Pollard watching the Strokes' first set from the side stage, drinking alternately out of beer cups in each hand). Before the show I remarked to my friend that I would love it if they only played the increasingly addictive car-crush anthem "Tight Globes" from the excellent Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department album. Second song, in all its glory. These guys just don't stop. They rocked through a pretty diverse set, spicing it up with a bunch o new songs like "Wings Of Thorn" and "Back To The Lake," and truly rocked the place. The Strokes' second set broke up GBV's performance, but it all went really seamlessly, the set changes taking no more than 4 or 5 minutes tops.
When it was all said and done, both bands took the stage to close out the night with a song together. Would it be an old Stones cover? The GBV-adopted Who classic "Baba O'Riley"? Something from Seven And The Ragged Tiger? Nope, how about the GBV nugget "My Valuable Hunting Knife," from Alien Lanes. A fine choice, were drunk-boy Julian not to have forgotten his cue and words (pretty tough for a 90-second song).
So the show ended on an up note, and we all spilled out into the chilly air of 125th St., and rock had won another night in the city. Who could ask for more?
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.