By Jesse Cataldo
With the staggering amount of shows and concerts available every night in Manhattan – the city’s most populous and diverse borough – it seems necessary for some kind of system to classify all of them. Attending a rock concert with 19,000 screaming fans at Madison Square Garden can hardly be placed in the same category as enjoying a quiet evening at a jazz club on Houston Street. Musical and environmental diversity aside, the easiest method of classifying concerts is by their price range. Just like economic classes, there are three ranges for concerts: upper, middle and lower. Each type commands its own general atmosphere and each promises a vastly different experience.
Upper-class shows, the big-time events that the public hears about are promoted weeks in advance on the radio and billboards. For most casual music fans, attending one or two of these events a year is the norm. The headliners are either famous current stars or classic rock acts whiling away their elder years on the touring circuit. In general, these types of shows will cost in excess of $50, with prices often extending off into the stratosphere. Middle-range shows are a diverse section, featuring both popular bands on the fringe of the mainstream and one-hit wonders who can still command a moderately large audience based on the draw of nostalgia. Lower range shows are low-key, low price affairs, with prices ranging from $5 to $20. You have to really dig to find these kinds of shows, as they usually feature local act combos that cater to specific tastes or indie bands deeply entrenched in the underground.
As far as concert reviews go, upper-class shows are so high profile that none of them in any way can be considered as “under the radar.” As for the middle-range, one of the most anticipated shows of last week The Decemberists was with openers Lou Barlow and Norfolk and Western held at Webster Hall. The concert hall was built in the 1880s as one of the city’s older ballroom style venues, utilized more often as a dance club than a concert hall nowadays. Although smaller than similar venues such as Roseland Ballroom and Irving Plaza, the environment was perfectly conducive to the event. The Hall is designed in the style of an old hotel, with dimly lit hallways, antique memorabilia and wide stairways leading to the second floor ballroom in which the show was held. The room has both a lower level with bleachers against the wall and a balcony with tables and chairs for those who get there early enough.
Opening the show was Norfolk and Western, a solo act featuring Adam Selzer on guitar and vocals. Decemberists’ drummer Rachel Blumberg joined Selzer on vibraphone and drums. Besides the instruments, the band’s main attraction was an old radio sitting on a bureau with a small lamp, from which emanated such sound effects as violins and chugging steam trains. The band played to a favorable response from the thin early crowd, getting the most attention for a cover of the Pavement’s “Here.” Unlike Norfolk and Western, Lou Barlow was unable to command the audience’s attention and his awkward synth openings and acoustic guitar were matched by the crowd’s loud chatter.
After a lengthy set up period, the Decemberists took the stage. They played a variety of songs from their albums Castaways and Cutouts and Her Majesty, The Decemberists, featuring historical sketches and eccentric anachronisms. These qualities were especially apparent on the new song, “The Sporting Life,” which recalls a childhood soccer misfortune in the flowery speech of the 19th century.
The lower-range concerts were represented by Circle Takes the Square, who headlined a $6 hardcore show in the tiny basement of the Knitting Factory. The show stretched over four and a half hours in the cramped, sweltering lower level, a tiny cement-floored room no bigger than the average suburban basement. The room contained a bar, a small, barely elevated stage with a brick stoop which provided slight elevation above the rest of the crowd. The show was opened by a series of local and largely unknown bands, who played cloying, unexceptional hardcore music without any sense of innovation. The only exception was Snack Truck, the last band onstage before the headliners, who featured a guitar with an organ effect, creating a warped sound that changed the pace and breathed life into the lifeless room.
The only negative remark is the bands’ 20-minute set, which paled in comparison to their 40 minutes of setup time. To be fair, getting the equipment up through the audience proved a chore, part of the reason the show stretched to such an excrutiating length. Circle Takes the Square capped off the night, playing a mix of songs from its breakthrough album, As the Roots Undo and its self-released debut. The audience came alive during the band’s set, pushing against the stage and singing the lyrics to “Interview at the Ruins” in unison as a call for an encore.