Stir It Up

Traveled down to the city to check out one of the best bands you’ve probably never heard of, the Constantines. They’re from Ontario, Canada and I’ve loved these guys since I heard them on the Sub Pop website in 2005. Tournament of Hearts turned out to be one of the better albums that year. This year, they released the follow-up called Kensington Heights. Their formula can best be described as a multi-guitar “wall of sound” with some interesting rhythms and a nice melodic-sensibility. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of a show they put on live. Unfortunately one of the founding members of the band, Steve Lambke, broke his hand a few days before the show (apparently from playing Frisbee) and was absent. The Constantines had to make the best of the short-handed lineup.

I arrived at Slim’s 30 minutes before the 9pm start time in order to get some food and a good seat. Slim’s is a small to medium-sized venue with a rectangular space surrounded by an L-shaped bar and some small tables. It also has a balcony with more seating, but this was not used for the show (definitely not sold-out). The food was pretty good (I had a grilled chicken sandwich w/ fries) and it had a nice, relaxed vibe.

The first band, The Weather Underground, started right at 9pm. They are an up-and-coming band out of Los Angeles, led by Harley Prechtel-Cortez. I was impressed with these guys, having an edgy Indie rock sound and a beat-poet style to the lyrics. Prechtel-Cortez had an amusing stage-presence, twitching and squirming, something like a cross between David Byrne and Jim Morrison. These guys were fun. Keep an eye on ‘em.

Next up was Ladyhawk. They are also out of Canada (Vancouver) and feature the same kind of noisy rock sound that the Constantines are known for. The thing that stood out the most for me was the lead-guitar work, utilizing a Rickenbacker and many effects ands wingdings. Washes of sound, feedback, and ultra-fast strumming.

Finally, at about 11:15p, the Constantines take the stage. Even without Lambke, they created a sound that demanded attention, with crunchy guitar-work, pounding bass and Bryan Webb’s half-sung, half-screamed vocals. They played many tracks that I recognized from their three most recent albums, as well as some others that must be from their first album. They brought out the guitarist from Ladyhawk for the encore and pleased the crowd with a rocking version of “Shine a Light”. They concluded the encore with a rambunctious take on the Stones classic “Street Fighting Man” with many members of Ladyhawk joining in. They certainly looked like they were having fun.

All in all this was a really fun show with some ups and downs, and what must be some detraction without Lambke. Still, I was left with a smile on my face as I wandered back to the hotel. Whee.

Some links:

Constantines on MySpace

Ladyhawk on MySpace

Here's a video I took. I know, the sound is pretty bad. But, it gives you an idea.