Last night’s show at Southpaw was a delightful way to spend Valentine’s day evening. Ticketweb said it was sold out, but they were definitely selling tickets at the door. Either way, it was a packed room half filled with Shilpa fans and half filled with Harlem Shakes fans. I honestly didn’t realize Harlem Shakes were that popular, but the sizable crowd was definitely excited for them.
The evening started off with Phil and the Osophers. I’d been listening to their tracks and have played “High Art” on my radio show several times. I was incredibly disappointed by their performance. Their delightfully lo-fi recordings of stripped-down indie translated to a mediocre college band on stage. Their bass player looked so nervous, and the somewhat charismatic lead singer/songwriter, Phil, couldn’t ooze out enough chemistry to make up for this. The songwriting sounded amateur, whereas recorded it sounds delightfully youthful. This promising band just wasn’t worth the time last night.
Next up was Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers. Shilpa is a true entertainer, and won over fans left and right. When I went to the restroom after the set, everyone was talking about how much they loved her rocker-chick persona. She puts her all into her throaty, emotional performance, and is smart enough to surround herself with very, very good musicians. I’m not sure if her harmonium-playing could cut it by itself, but it’s great watching her with such a solid line-up of rocking musicians. It was her birthday last night, too. Great show.
Harlem Shakes were the third and final band of the evening. They’re a pretty standard dancy indie rock band, and were definitely enjoyable. Lead singer, Lexy, was appropriately nonchalant for his warbling, whiny vocals. I felt conflicted about his performance, however. Harlem Shakes have some really, really solid songwriting. Songs like “Sickos” build very well and have just enough catchy hooks to keep you coming back for more. But these songs aren’t quite enough to carry the band through an hour of playing on their own. I understand that Lexy was trying to give a certain laid-back persona on stage (or was even just being himself), but I wanted to see more out of him. He never smiled, and didn’t look like he cared whether or not he was there. I liked this stage presence, but was unenergized by it at the same time. The rest of the band was very present and performative, however, and the addition of horns was a pleasant surprise. It seems to me that Harlem Shakes have spent a lot of time touring as openers for slightly bigger bands, and haven’t quite figured out how to be the hugely popular band they’re becoming. I’m not sure if they’ll figure that out on their upcoming tour with Tokyo Police Club. Either way, this is a band worth checking out, if not just for the couple of songs you’ll definitely want to listen to again and again.
Phil and the Osophers:
Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers:
Harlem Shakes:
I really hope that Shilpa & co. are able to break out and become legit indie stars. They have so much more creativity and talent than most buzz bands. Beat the Devil was a special band, and it looks like the Happy Hookers will be too.
Is Andrew “Creaky Boards” Hoepfner still playing with them?
Shilpa Ray and the Happy Hookers have baited me for sure! Shilpa Ray has great stage presence and had the crowd going. Her harmonium is a marvel, and I love her attitude; she is the kind of female rock star missing in most bands today. And who could not dance to the driving music of the Happy Hookers? Talk about synergy. While I’m not a fan of the band name, Phil and the Osophers, I thought, were actually pretty good as an opening act. They were awkwardly adorable. The last half of their set was great, the other half? Not so much. The bass player did look a little nervous. Phil has a unique voice, and I agree, I’d like to hear more mature songs from him. Their drummer was hidden in the dark, but his skills are undeniable and, aside from a few songs, had some non-basic beats and crazy transitions that had me thinking “What was that? I love it!” on more than just a few occasions. They’re still a band to keep an eye out for. The Harlem Shakes were ok. A few people grumbled that Shipa Ray should have headlined the show, and I am inclined to agree. Granted, they hadn’t performed in a while, their set just sounded standard. They played some new songs, which I did enjoy, after not seeing them for almost 3 years. I wonder if they had only kept up the momentum and created a new album a few years ago, when they were more of a buzz band. I love the trumpet player! The sound of triumph is always good to have in music. The lead looked like he was trying too hard though. He’s not Thom Yorke or, even, Shilpa Ray who look more natural on stage. I want to see bands who perform like nothing matters but the music. Still, overall a fun night, but it hurt going to work the next morning.
i just asked andrew, and though i have not seen him play with shilpa the last two times, he does indeed still play keyboard for the band.
and daisy, thanks for your comment! it’s funny because i didn’t think lexy was trying too hard, but maybe he was trying too hard not to try hard. i think the overall moral of the night that everyone can agree on is SHILPA = AWESOME. i hope she gets all of the success that she deserves.
everyone sure hearts shilpa…i’ll give that her voice is awesome, but the music wasn’t that spectacular….and sorry, not a fan of the harmonium…i saw her at santos party house and mercury lounge, in december and january, and while they have progressed as a band by getting tighter and in sync, i’m just not into the music, however i will say again that her voice is bad ass and is the kind of voice that can seduce you before killing you…harlem shakes were my favorite…i don’t think the lead was trying too hard…he looked like himself to me, jerky dancing and all…for not having played in new york in a few made this show even better…can’t wait for technicolor health to drop but i’ll be seeing them at webster hall in a week…didn’t sound rusty to me or anything…phil and teh osophers were fun to watch…strangely awkward which is what made it fun…looked like little kids who just found instruments and decided to play away…bass player looked fine and danced funny, he played steady rhythm…agree, that the drummer was awesome…i liked the songs too…some catchy stuff…nice way to spend v-day, listening to good music…even better to see harlem shakes back in form and do more shows
Cool blog! Thinking of doing my own. I go to a lot of shows in Brooklyn. Insound and BellHouse are my favorite spots. Checking out bands play in smaller settings is more to my taste. Southpaw was way packed on Saturday. All bands were damn good imo.