By: Pat O'Brien
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The Charlatans UK - Publicity photo from their website
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The Mainroom painted a picture of opposites Thursday night that somehow blended together well. One band was a group of new-wavy twentysomethings from LA, while the other were stalwarts from one of the most revered scenes in the history of modern music. The Earth didn’t necessarily move, but it doesn’t always have to when everyone’s booty does.
Over the years the music industry has produced its share of legends and legendary shows. While Thursday’s most likely wasn’t even in the top 1,000, there were possible legends in the making and only about 35 people will be able to say “I saw them when...” a couple of years from now.
As Los Angeles’ The Blood Arm took the stage, I kind of rolled my eyes. It was all too familiar – the long-haired hipster in the lead singer spot, with ironic t-shirted fellows and a cute-ish girl manning the rest of the instruments. I was certainly not ready to pay much attention. But then something happened: I became transfixed on lead singer Nathaniel Fregoso. He has that indescribable “frontman” quality that comes along every so often. That quality that guys like Morrison and Cobain must have had (here’s hoping Fregoso doesn’t check out at age 27). He was telling ridiculously funny stories about a fictitious life of living on the streets of Minneapolis as a youth and, as the room was so sparsely populated, he was approaching people in the crowd and asking them questions to which he genuinely wanted to know the answers. Plus he sang two songs from the floor in front of the stage, as the band rolled out a sound that comfortably settled between Bloc Party and The Rapture--ultra-catchy, fairly witty and pulsing with dancy energy. To witness this was to be witnessing history writing itself. Mark my words: in two years time and with a bit of luck, The Blood Arm are going to be HUGE.
The Charlatans UK have been running in perpetual second place for their entire careers and it’s frustrating and kind of inexplicable to see. They have had more bad luck than any band should ever be able to survive (deadly car accidents, forced name changes, etc.) but have powered through it with little complaint. They still have that early 90’s Manchester sound – booming, bluesy, and vaguely theatrical; and while many people prefer to look back at those days with a detached fondness, there is no question that it’s immensely enjoyable now. The Charlatans (the “UK” is for legal reasons only) haven’t evolved a hell of lot over the years, but the rest of the Manchester bands from that era have broken up for the most part. So who’s to say “the Manchester sound” wouldn’t still be a commercial juggernaut had bands like The Smiths, The Stone Roses, et al not called it quits?
Lead singer Tim Burgess still looks like he hasn’t aged a day past 30, and it doesn’t take a genius to see where Noel Gallagher stole his now-signature thousand-yard stare; but Burgess engaged the crowd as well, leaning down multiple time to shake hands in the roughly half-full Mainroom. They kept the set list mostly focused on newer stuff and a few of the old favorites. The highlight of their set was undoubtedly their new single “Blackened Blue Eyes” from their new album Simpatico, which, ironically, sounded the least like a song The Charlatans would have written – and that should give fans hope. Hope that The Charlatans’ best days aren’t yet behind them, hope that the bad luck has been laid to rest, and hope that they can, at long last, pull into first place, leave the ghosts of “Madchester” behind them and stand on their own two feet without anyone accusing them of wearing stolen shoes.
Location Info:
First Avenue
Artist Info: The Blood Arm, The Charlatans UK
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