The Republic Tigers & Jukebox the Ghost, Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY. 4/14/08
I didn’t always hate going to shows early to catch the opening band. I didn’t always think that there might be something on TV way more exciting than seeing whomever was playing live in the support slot of whatever band I was seeing. No, I wasn’t always like that until I started seeing shows in the emo/punk circut and got bored by their same-ness. They were all simmilarly awful.
I need to get out of that funk and belief. In the past two weeks I’ve seen shows with opening bands that I’ve fallen instantly in love with. First was Cheif opening for Duke Spirit (omgomgomgomg I love the duke spirit album Neptune is my soundtrack!!!!!!), and lastnight was The Republic Tigers opening for Jukebox the Ghost.
The first thing I noticed about TRT was that they had random floor toms scattered about the stage orbiting cetain members. I LOVE when people who are not the assigned percussionist plays percussion. I dont know if its because I used to play in the drum group in 2nd grade and would fantacize playing the timpani drums during Echo & the Bunnymen… or if I just enjoy the idea that someone might get so excited that they would play an instrument they weren’t supposed to, however they wanted to.
The second thing I noticed was that the singer of TRT looked somewhat like a cuter version of David Brent (mind you, earlier in the evening I had dinner at Alias and accosted my waitress demanding that she looked like Libby from LOST…. holy random, so I was on a slight look-alike tip) from the UK version of the Office.
The third thing I noticed is that — and possibly because of the first thing I noticed — they reminded me of a southern version of Echo & the Bunnymen. Moments of their performance were sublime and promising and their last song, probably their focus track that I couldn’t find anywhere online (not in the iTunes ep I bought because their ep was sold out at the show, or their myspace page… get it together people! Put the new tracks online if you have an album coming out in two weeks!!!) sounded like a Franz Ferdinand track circa-their first album that I will have to add to my DJing repretoire.
Next up were Jukebox the Ghost… my reason for even going all the way out to Southpaw (I’m lazy). I was told a few things about JTG including: singer/keyboardist Ben Thornewill is incredible, that the band, consisting of guitarist/vocalist Tommy Seigel and drummer Jesse Kristin, in general, are some of the finest musicians since Wilco, their live show is fantastic and you never want it to end, and that they’ve been known to play the entire second half of the Beatles’ Abbey Road at shows. Now, I’m not gonna lie, the idea of any playing the entire second half of any Beatles album vs them playing their own songs that I’m not realy familliar with is always infinitely more appealing to me. And while they didn’t do that, the other factiods about the band — relayed to me by Brandon Reilly, singer of Nightmare of You, who had just come from touring with the band for two weeks — were spot on. Brandon HATES live shows and no amount of persuasion ever gets him out, but he refused to miss this show and now I can see why.
Jukebox the Ghost can best be compared to a quirkier Ben Folds Five — but only because they consist of a very capable pianist whom also sings. The comparisons really end there for their song structures are more akin to They Might Be Giants and vocal stylings are reminiscent of the Kinks. Their witty stage banter had the audience (which they invited to stand closer to stage) in the palm of their hand. The band told the twisted stories behind their songs before performing them, giving you an insight to their often several part songs… which is good cos they had this one song about astronauts that go to the moon and God follows them back to Earth and destroys the whole thing but then people previal and if the song came from some other band I’d think I was watching Jesus-y band (not that anything is wrong with that).
By the end of the show, an attractive young woman approached the stage demanding the band play their Christmas-time song. She was relentless with her demands, not moving from the front of the stage, not taking no for an answer, and at one fucking genius point she asked for the guitarist’s mic so she could get the audience rallying for her cause. She never got the mic, and she didnt get the song request fufilled despite others requesting the tune, but what we did get was the amazing “Good Day,” a song that would turn anyone into instant fans of Jukebox the Ghost.
