Palma Violets took Shea Stadium by storm last weekend. Shea is known for their DIY all ages shows, that can get plenty crazy, and this London psych punkers went for it full force. They were getting talked about fiercely before they had released an album, and their first single ‘Best of Friends” was even voted song of the year 2012 on NME. Who does that?! But really, with a shredding live show like theirs, that’s pretty much all the cred they need.
It’s like they’re channeling the best punk and post-punk bands of the past; even their logo is reminiscent of The Clash. I’m going to go ahead and assume that this show at Shea Stadium is pretty representative of their live show in general (and a quick YouTube search for live videos uploaded by fans is pretty supportive of that claim), and just say that these guys are animals live. Actually, I’ll take it a step further and say that most of their fans are absolute animal as well. Palma Violets just bring out the crazy in these kids. On this night, it became hard to tell where the band ended and the crowd began. Front man Sam Fryer was grabbing the mic, leaning into the crowd, and bassist Chilli Jesson was just everywhere. The show was sold out, and the crowd was moshing, falling onto the stage, fists in the air, cigarettes and beer cans held high, a blur of headbanging heads and snarling, shouting mouths. At one point a super drunk dude who had been chain smoking the entire time grabbed Chilli’s bass neck, which was maybe going a little too far, by the look on Chilli’s face, but the kid was probably ecstatic to cop a feel.
But there’s no way Palma Violet s don’t get that kind of thing all the time. They roll with it; hell, they incite it. They play off it. They create this palpable vibe that’s like a forcefield of being invincible, so everyone can rage their hardest without any inhibitions. The amount of pain they’ll feel the next day between being hungover and bruised as hell is no deterrent, and completely worth it. Chilli’s a badass though, a true rock n’ roller. I think he actually IS invincible. By the end of their set the whole room was a sweaty, sticky mess, and how sweet it was.
To be fair, Palma Violets weren’t the only animal rockers contributing to the sweaty, sticky mess that night. New bands So So Glos and Indian Rebound were supporting, and they both performed wild sets in their own right. So So Glos are the real deal, always keeping it real with a true punk ethos, so they deserve much respect. They want the kids to get crazy, but front man and bassist Alex Levine gave a quick little speech on respecting your peers, respecting the venue, and supporting all ages shows. With that public announcement out of the way, it was rage on.
Indian Rebound I first saw at Mercury Lounge back in 2011, opening for Cloud Nothings. I noted then that this band was honing their skills, annnd welcome to the future kids, with Indian Rebound 2.0. They looked and sounded so different I didn’t even recognize them as the same band at first. Lead singer Ethan Levenson and lead guitarist Gianni de Falco have both grown out their hair, kicked up their swagger, have even more girlies screaming for them; and if they reminded me of Pavement before, they really do now. It’s like Ethan is channeling Stephen Malkmus’ loose but confident attitude on stage, and he’s backed up smartly by Gianni, who grabbed the mic a couple times in a fit of rock. Bottom line, these boys have already aged finely, and tuned their craft even finer. I can only imagine the heights they’ll reach from here on out. Hear what I mean with their latest tune, ‘Bowery Brats,” a must hear:
Latest sounds by indianrebound
Palma Violets are just getting going on their tour, which includes one more date at Glasslands this month, and then jumping on the road with Django Django – that’s a pretty cool pairing. They’ve got dates for months, and you can check them all. So So Glos have another NYC date at Bowery Electric later this month, and you can follow them for future updates on their Face Space. Indian Rebound look like they’re chilling out show-wise for now, but yeah, there’s always FB for them, too. Go give them a listen and a like.
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