New York – Speedy Ortiz opened up for Los Campesinos! at Irving Plaza last night, but I wish I had caught their show someplace else. I’m starting to believe more and more that you can’t get a real taste of punk, grunge, art rock, noise rock, or any music in that realm, the way it’s meant to be heard, in a highly bureaucratic venue like that. Speedy Ortiz has talked about how they want to put personality back into indie rock, and I’ve heard nothing but interesting stories of their live shows, but at a place where security guards are everywhere grilling your every move, ready to pull you aside and out of the moment for something you haven’t even done yet, there’s little tolerance for the kind of personality that makes rock the most interesting live.
Not that this obstructed the music itself in any way. Even if there were more rules and regulations to follow than your average Brooklyn dive bar, Speedy Ortiz still sounded great, with their songs and playing solid. Judging from the difference in energy from the crowd between their set and Los Campesinos! set, I would guess the majority were not extremely familiar with the Northampton, MA-based grunge noise rock band. I have to admit that when I first heard of Speedy Ortiz, they had seemed to have come on the scene out of nowhere, and suddenly everyone was talking about them and touting them as the next real 90s reminiscent band that was influenced by Pavement and Liz Phair.
The whole 90s nostalgia thing has kind of been beat to death at this point, as far as labeling describing sound, even if it is on point and a huge compliment at that. All it really means is that kids who grew up in the 90s are making music now that is influenced by what they listened to then, which is no big revelation. What I think makes it relatable more than anything, is how conducive those sounds were as raw and honest expression. Speedy Ortiz has all the right heavy grinding with reverb’d breakdowns and sustained solos that convey the same notions of dissatisfaction with relationships and critiques of society, because that stuff never really changes from one generation to the next, but they also do it with wit and confidence.
Singer and guitarist Sadie Dupuis’ lyrics reflect her poetry background, as well as growing up listening to artists like Liz Phair and Helium, who were strong women that show some femininity and vulnerability, but then quickly come with a so there don’t care attitude and wit to remind that being honest does not mean taking shit. Speedy Ortiz express themselves the way they want, while making it look like they’re barely trying, like playing music is just as easy as eating and sleeping.
Speedy Ortiz played through a good amount of their Major Arcana LP, but they also have their new Real Hair EP coming out next month. Luckily they’re coming back to NYC a couple more times on their pretty extensive tour, with a free show at Brooklyn Night Bazaar on February 7 and an in-store performance at Other Music February 10, the day before the EP comes out.
