HARRIS, TAXPAYER, THE FATAL FLAW, THE YOUNG LEAVES Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA (7/22/11)
Someone took this sweet video of "Carousel." There are also a bunch of other videos from the show on his youtube page, which is awesome.
Please forgive me if this review is less a review and more a gushing tribute to some of my favorite local bands. I got here just after The Young Leaves finished playing, and I'm bummed I missed them, but on the plus side, The Fatal Flaw is just getting started. They play a bunch of songs from their new album, which I hadn't heard before. I think they sound really good, but the crowd is still trickling in. The crowd that is here, though, seems to be liking what they're hearing. Unfortunately I'm stuck by the bar with a broken ankle, so it feels a bit like watching Scrooge eat his Christmas dinner from outside in the cold.
As Taxpayer gets onstage it occurs to me that this show is pretty much a Noise Board reunion. At this point I'm a few tallboys in and Taxpayer is sounding great. The crowd is into them but I'm having a hard time paying attention. A wayward tumbleweed of a thought rolls through my brain: Taxpayer is what it would sound like if The Fatal Flaw had a baby with Harris. Hmm. What are the odds they'd all be playing the same show together!?
Then Harris is onstage and people are cheering almost constantly. It's not a huge crowd, but it's a decent-sized crowd of Harris die-hards, so it's hard to not get completely caught up in the energy in the room. The crowd is singing along to every song; the "dah dah dah dah dah...whoooa ohhhhs" keep going for a solid three minutes after the band finishes playing "Captain," which is an 8-minute song on its own. There are a group of 5 or 6 guys in the crowd with their arms around each other, standing in a circle and singing along. Harris blows me away every time I see them and tonight is no exception. The band is so intense about what they're doing and rocking out so hard. They are the rare band that is better live than recorded, and everyone, the band included, seems like they've been completely swept up in the moment. Harris closes the night with "New Color," and people are screaming the words at this point. I think everyone is feeling nostalgic. It's like the last day of college-- sure, you'll keep in touch, but you can never go back; we might never all be together again. I leave Brighton Music Hall feeling a little tipsy, and more than a little sad that we might never see Harris play again.
