[Photos by Fred Benenson]
By Arye Dworken
Let’s say you had no idea about the Pitchfork review or the James Murphy connection. Not only that; let’s say you showed up to Studio B on Saturday night knowing nothing about Hercules and Love Affair and waited for them to finally hit the stage at 1:20 AM even though the place was more crowded and smelly than a carton of freshly caught fish.
Nearly a dozen musicians took the stage for their first live performance with a notable nervous energy permeating throughout. Hell, you even felt it in the back by the bar. The band itself looked like a Real World cast as curated by John Waters, with a scantily dressed and hot transsexual leading them on vocals. You danced, or tried to, because Studio B definitely oversold tickets, making it nearly impossible to move anything but one’s shoulders.
After ordering a vodka soda, you heard that Antony sings lead on several of the songs from the group’s import-only debut (a Mute-distributed version of the DFA disc is due out next month) but alas, he isn’t coming tonight. However, you tried to stay positive, thinking, “Hey, you never know. New York shows always inspire random cameos.”
He didn’t come.
Anyway, the band tore through 10 tracks, including at least one of the Antony cuts. It was hard to get a good view—hello tall, gay, European posse—but you were pretty sure they used a pre-recorded vocal track for a crowd favorite entitled “Blind.” (Ed. note: There’s a stellar Frankie Knuckles remix of this single available on 12-inch or here.)
After a while, Hercules and Love Affair started to sound not like the disco revivalists your peers are attributing them as, but like a queer interpretation of LCD Soundsystem. Which isn’t a bad thing. It’s just not what you were expecting from the colorful personalities on stage.
It was also blatantly obvious that they were new to this live thing. The glamorous, high-energy songs are there for the taking and you’re pretty sure it’s just a matter of time before the Hercs feel more comfortable as live performers because right now, it felt a bit stilted and stiff. It makes sense that this project was spearheaded by a DJ—that blonde dude standing in the background, and not an organic garage-born band.
A satisfactory evening overall and you’re still open to see them again when they return from Europe.
They’re huge in Europe.
The setlist (according to the Internet):
True False/ Fake Real
Shadows
Blind
I’m Telling You
Athene
Classique #2
Precious Little Diamond
You Belong
Raise Me Up
Hercules Theme
And some more photos …
9 Responses to “I WAS THERE: Hercules and Love Affair @ Studio B, 5.17.08”
man, that’s a far cry from their album if their live show sounds like LCD Soundsystem.
Writers really need to work harder to describe the music, because this is the weakest review i’ve read in a good long while, and i’ve been really hoping to get a solid report on this show.
So-far I know nothing about the music. I can guess from already being familiar with H&LA that the live version was a more upbeat version of the band’s disco-meets-proto-house with heavy references to gay “video bar” stalwarts like Erasure sound. By saying that it is more “LCD than disco” actually means that it removes the rock instrumentation and post-punk signifiers that are utilized by LCD Soundsystem and replaces them with a more “traditional” synthetic composition. At least, that’s what i can only imagine this review tried to say.
And so by drawing this conclusion, are you saying that LCD is suddenly not disco because H&LA is more disco? Or is your short term hipster memory so atrophied by cocaine and blogging that you forgot that LCD Soundsystem was “disco-punk” in the first place. I bet it just all sounds like “Rawk” to you now. So progressive.
Nevermind the utterly inane “imagine you didn’t know” device that never comes to any sort of conclusion or punchline. Just say the club was packed and excited and move on to telling me something I don’t already know. Like who were the performers? How many were onstage? How was the overall crowd response and what elements to the performance elicited what reactions.
Oh- and let’s not even quibble over the appalling hem-hawing apologetic last paragraph. i had to read it three times to figure out if you enjoyed the performance or not.
Man- NOW i’m annoyed I wasn’t there.
Holy shitake. Someone definitely needs more bran in their diet.
Dude, forget about defending this review for a minute. Cool. Let’s do that. The hostility in your comments is whack. This is a show we’re talking about. Unless you’re in the band–which I’m sure you’re not–accusing me of a) having an atrophied brain (which I do not) b) of doing coke (which I don’t) c) of blogging often (which I definitely do not. Like, I wish) and d) being a hipster (guilty! I like Nike Dunks. What can I do?) is judgmental, flippant, and regressive. Way to begin a dialog, Sylvester Stallone. Now put down your guns.
I apologize if you rely on my written word to form your opinions. Had I known that beforehand, I would have written you a separate email with a detailed account of the show like the fact that there were two dancers on either side of the stage. See? That makes all the difference. I know. I know. You’re right. I see that now.
But dude, for realz (the “z” is so hipster, right?) chill down on the Internets language. We’re all buds in music. No need to be all yussel about it.
And incidentally, I ain’t no Hemmingway but this–” a more upbeat version of the band’s disco-meets-proto-house with heavy references to gay “video bar” stalwarts like Erasure sound”–that is gold. Can you submit a sentence to De Capo?
Your friend on the East Coast.
xo,
A
what Josh said
:-p
on November 4th, 2008 at 3:05 pm #
[...] are wildly raw enough, contagiously sexy enough and unapologetically New York enough to flick Hercules and Love Affair from its dance-floor pedestal for 2008, and the remix possibilities are endless with such vibrant [...]
on December 14th, 2008 at 1:11 am #
[...] of most improved shows, Hercules and Love Affair’s makeover since last May—a clunky debut that struggled to translate DJ/producer Andy Butler’s twisted house opus [...]
on January 6th, 2009 at 4:02 pm #
[...] reading: I WAS THERE: Hercules and Love Affair @ Studio B, 5.17.08 1MM: Hercules and Love Affair @ Modular’s Nevereverland Festival, [...]
emm… funny )