It wasn’t the Von Bondies playing the Larimer Lounge on Aug. 3 so much as it was the non-Bondies.
Just a few songs into the Detroit band’s set, frontman Jason Stollsteimer requested a round of Jaeger and told the sweaty crowd this was the last show before the group hit the studio for its next full-length album. “We’re gonna try out eight or nine new songs tonight,” he said to the crowd’s adoring applause.
That energy and rapport was quickly quashed as soon as the Von Bondies launched into their new material, which focuses more on radio-friendly pop-punk than the neo-garage stylings of their previous records. The new stuff was at times too polished, lacking Stollsteimer’s furious squeal and the sloppy spontaneity that has always defined the band.
The new material didn’t rock. It popped, and it may get the band on the radio later this year, but it didn’t rock.
In fact, the new songs created a rift in the room. At one point, a guy shouted out,
“‘Seven Nation Army,”‘ throwing into Stollsteimer’s face that he’s still known as the guy who opened for the White Stripes for so many tours – and also as the guy who got publicly pummeled by Jack White.
Before laying into “The Fever,” the girls of the group – bassist Carrie Smith and guitarist Marcie Bolen – ridiculed the crowd, talking about a tough drive from Albuquerque, blown radiator hoses and non-reciprocated energy. It remained an antagonistic us-against-them set until Stollsteimer broke the wall and launched himself into the crowd during “C’mon C’mon.” It was a rock-club moment, one that you wouldn’t have seen when the Bondies last toured the U.S. with a stop at Denver’s much-larger Gothic Theatre.
Mind you, the Larimer Lounge wasn’t sold out last week. Perhaps it was an off night – for both the band and the crowd – or perhaps it was a portrait of a band on the decline and without the publicity of a salacious story and a bloodied face.
– Ricardo Baca
Pernice Brothers
Yes, the Pernice Brothers’ catalog is some of the sweetest and saddest music ever recorded. But don’t forget that the Massachusetts group is skilled in the art of dense pop orchestration, and that frontman Joe Pernice – while soft-spoken and hushed – is one of the fiercest live performers in pop.
That was again obvious as the Pernice Brothers hit the Bluebird Theatre on Aug. 4. A sparse crowd was entranced by Joe Pernice and his band, which includes brother Bob, as they brought the new album, “Discover a Lovelier You,” to life. The music was surprisingly upbeat and bright – with tracks such as “Red Desert” pumping blood – and the music’s beauty was undeniable.
But aside from the gorgeous simplicity of songs like the heartbreaking “Saddest Quo,” the band’s music is also intricately crafted. Like the Wrens, another underappreciated indie-pop group, the Pernice Brothers create music that is unexpectedly complex in structure as well as emotion.
And hearing it live gives you the perspective to see it from the inside out.
– Ricardo Baca
