We've largely ignored Free Energy around these parts, for a couple different reasons. The most salient reason being that they always kind of struck me as a little too arrogant - pretentious even. Their music has a refreshing swagger to it, but the first time I saw them in concert I was put off by their cockiness. There's a difference between rock-and-roll not-caring and rock-and-roll pretending-not-to-care, and they were certainly smack dab in the middle of the latter category.
Through sheer circumstance, I saw the Free Energy guys play three separate times at SXSW, and I have to admit that I was very happily surprised. Each time, the Philly guys put on a dynamite show, getting people to dance, sing, and generally have fun - at a festival where people are often to busy or tired to do any of that.
The first time I saw them, at the Rolling Stone Thursday night showcase, they seemed genuinely honored to have a big, involved crowd (including the members of Titus Andronicus). Repeatedly, lead singer Paul Sprangers thanked the crowd, with a refreshing honesty that was missing from their Brooklyn show. It sounded to me like Free Energy had a bit of a wakeup call, a SXSW reality check surrounded by (literally) a thousand other talented bands. Sprangers talked about their SXSW Showcase at the Fader Fort. "Thanks for dancing!" he said on Thursday night. "This is much better than our Fader Fort show, where there was a guy in the front row flipping us off and mouthing the words 'Fuck You' the entire time. The entire time."
Indeed it was better. Each time I saw Free Energy, I liked them a little bit more. Which is nice, because they make some pretty damn fun tunes.
Free Energy - Free Energy (YSI) (filesavr)
Free Energy - Dream City (YSI) (filesavr)
0 comments:
Post a Comment