MUSIC REVIEW: WILD FLAG - LIVE AT THE TROUBADOUR
A Standard-Waving Show that Pumps the Force of Electric Rock 'n' Roll
(Novemeber 2, 2011 in Los Angeles, California) Plenty of rock 'n' roll songs -- from Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music" on -- are about the form itself -- a self-mythologizing of the ways in which a backbeat and some feedback can uplift, empower, and turn individual fans into a community. Wild Flag acknowledges this power in a number of songs, including the two openers from their Wednesday night show at the Troubadour -- "Electric Band" and "Romance." On the latter, over punching guitars and a roll of drums, guitarist Carrie Brownstein sings what could be a rock manifesto: "We dance to free ourselves from the room / We love the sound / The sound is what found us / The sound is the blood between me and you."
Formed in 2010 by Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss, former members of Sleater-Kinney; singer/guitarist Mary Timony of Helium; and organist Rebecca Cole, previously of The Minders, Wild Flag's debut, self-titled release came out less than two months ago. With four players of this caliber (Weiss, particularly, is one of the best drummers working today), the results were highly anticipated. While the album occasionally sounds like two trains on parallel tracks -- Timony's structurally complex, measured approach contrasted with Brownstein's more straightforward barnburners -- the individual songs are all engaging, vivid pieces of work.
In concert before a packed, enthusiastic audience ("the best we've had in a while," as Brownstein put it), the band played all but one song from the album as a nimble, unified whole. Timony's songs got a kick in the tempo, and the two guitarists often placed themselves face to face in the middle of the small stage, pushing swirling melodies into sing-along overdrive. The opening, "Electric Band," particularly benefitted from the live setting, and the album's standout tracks, such as "Future Crimes" and "Something Came Over Me," were as rousing as expected. Timony and Brownstein rarely sang in tandem, with Weiss and Cole providing harmonies for both, in marked contrast to Brownstein's work in Sleater-Kinney, where she and co-vocalist Corin Tucker sang to and through each other on most songs. Brownstein uses the extra space to e-nun-ci-ate, emphasizing words and phrases with a propulsive emotion and an occasional Joey Ramone-like vocal hiccup. Cole's keyboard work -- serving both the rhythm and melody -- was especially brilliant, adding a '60s girl group/garage rock sound without sliding into Cults-like nostalgia.
The band's Troubadour set had only two lulls in tempo, as "Glass Tambourine" and "Racehorse" were extended into jam sessions. With only one 40-minute album of original material to call on, the set-list needed some extension; in this case the band's choices included energetic encore versions of The Misfits' "She" and Television's "See No Evil." Two new songs have been incorporated into the band's set this tour -- the churning, whiplash "Winter Pair" and the brighter "Nothing," which Timoney opened by chanting "Nothing comes from nothing comes from nothing" over a simple guitar pattern, before a blast of noise from the rhythm section turned the song pogo-worthy.
After Wild Flag's opening song, Brownstein was handed a note from a young teen girl in the front row. Reading carefully ("The show's over, this is too intense," she joked), Brownstein finally looked up at the girl and smiled. "You're awesome!" she said brightly, and the audience reaction made clear that the feeling was mutual. Just one more demonstration of rock 'n' roll's power, brought to you "in stereo sound" by a group of accomplished individual players that has clearly found its feet as a band.
Standout Tracks: "Future Crimes," "Short Version," "Black Tiles," "Romance"
For Fans Of: Sleater-Kinney, Helium, '60s girl groups and garage rock
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