Here’s the problem with seeing Sleigh Bells in concert: There are almost no words in the English language or any other that are fit to describe what happens. It’s almost like an alien abduction. You know what happened, but you can’t describe it in a way that others would believe. One minute you’re standing around listening to Bloc Party’s “Silent Alarm” over the house speakers and the next you’re thrown into this outrageous mosh pit that can only be compared to that of a Limp Biskit concert circa 1997 and you’re covered from head-to-toe in glitter (true story). The photo provided sums it all.
This past Thursday, Boston’s recent de rigeur of concert halls, Royale, was hit 7.8 on the richter scale with Sleigh Bells and Die Antwoord. I’m not going to speak on Die Antwoord, because I wasn’t all that interested in seeing him. Not that I’m not a fan or anything, but I’m still having night terrors over this video. When Sleigh Bells finally took the stage (almost a half hour late), everything erupted. I’ve literally never seen two people evoke such emotion from a crowd like these two did. Matt and Kim sort of accomplished this when I saw them, but what Sleigh Bells did was of biblical proportions. And what song do I accredit this to? “A/B Machines.” When the verse hit everyone changed. I literally am not the same person anymore. This pretty much sums up their entre set. I made my way up front and in the process lost about 55 pounds (due to continuous sweating and the inevitable two-biggest-bag-of-smashed-assholes-ever sandwich that many concert goers of today simply can’t avoid, no matter how hard they try).
The partnership of Royale and The Bowery Ballroom (which, in the Hub is now called Bowery Boston) has been such a shot of life to the concert scene in the city. They’ve contracted 100 shows at Royale this far and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a venue name change n the future (can anyone say Fillmore?) All in all, this is a dawning of a new era.
(Check out this post and others at The Record Crate).
