You know, I was never a big fan of Titus Andronicus. Their music always sounded a little too loose for me, a little too hard and fast. Early reviews I read of their live show seemed to describe it as an anything-goes drunken revelry. A good time at a party? Perhaps. Something I want to pay money to watch on-stage? No.
The band's latest album, though, is awesome. I've been listening to it a bunch, and I really really enjoy it. Describing it, it's tough for me to avoid the phrase "like a drunk, dirty Conor Oberst" and I mean that in the best way possible. It has a bit of a Civil War theme tinge to it, but without sacrificing edge. So at SXSW, when I was finally given the opportunity to see Titus Andronicus play live without paying for a ticket, I jumped at the chance.
I was blown away. From accounts I've heard - and what I observed - the group has toned down their antics a bit, dialing down the volume in exchange for a little more mainstream acceptance. Not that the band is altogether psyched about this change - when an audience member told lead singer Pat Stickles that he had seen the band perform two years ago, Stickles replied, "We're much worse now!" I got the feeling he meant it.
In concert, Titus was face melting. The guitars were hot, the vocals were harsh, and the jams were fervent. When the band was informed that they had nine minutes left in their allotted time, they launched into "The Battle of Hampton Roads," a fourteen minute epic that closes out The Monitor. It took them 16 minutes, and the venue pulled the plug with 45 seconds left. "We really wanted to finish the song," said Stickles to the crowd - but I got the feeling he felt alright playing the badass.
Titus Andronicus - A More Perfect Union (YSI) (filesavr)
Titus Andronicus - Four Score And Seven (YSI) (filesavr)
2 comments:
Titus Andronicus on Bright Eyes: http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7158-pitchfork-music-festival-2008-saturday/
Pitchfork: You guys wanna talk about Bright Eyes?
Pat Stickles: [picks up the recorder and speaks directly into it] Listen to me for a second. I listened to a lot of Bright Eyes in high school. I'm not gonna front on you. Seventeen, 18 years old, me and my friends thought Bright Eyes was god's dick. I'm going on 23 now, I don't wanna read about Bright Eyes every time I wanna read about the band I'm in. Even fucking Silver Jews got a couple of blurbs that didn't mention Pavement, okay? So please, all you blogosphere navigators out there, I'm challenging you right now, calling you out: let's see who can write the Titus Andronicus blurb that doesn't mention Bright Eyes, okay? We'll be best buddies ever. Not hate on Bright Eyes, important guy in my teenage years, but, like, seriously, every fucking time I... officially, I don't sound that much like him, okay? We're just dudes. We're just regular Irish-descended American dudes that like laying it on the line. There's a lot of fucking people that did that too, besides Conor Oberst. Much love to Conor, big ups to him on his artist friendly one-off Merge contract. Don't wanna hear about it anymore, okay? I know Bright Eyes screeches and squeals a lot... fine, Bright Eyes is cool. We listened to Bright Eyes in the van last night, and I was digging it.
Dan Tews: Calling us like Bright Eyes is a little Flak 101. Dig a little deeper. Greatest hits, track two.
PS: So I'm sayin'. Lotta love to Bright Eyes. I fucking was loving you at the Knitting Factory when you had Ben Kweller in your band. That was huge. You're a great man, Conor, if you're out there. However, I don't sing like you that much, man. And I don't need to hear about it every single day. We also challenge you to a fight. I'm interested in fighting you, or doing whatever contest you want. If you wanna go bowling, if you wanna do Scrabble, Scattergories... we're gonna be in Omaha one of these days, man. Yeah, Jenga? I'm dangerous at Jenga. Face me in Jenga, see what happens, Conor. We'll find out won't we. Think you're pretty big now? Just wait. Also, Mario Kart 64? Bring the drama.
Andrew Cedermark: No seriously, I got dibs, though. I got Peach.
PS: Our band does not sound like Bright Eyes. Officially. That's the last word on it. The end. No hate, but big shouts to people who realize that Paul Westerberg is a bigger, better guy to compare us to than Bright Eyes. 'Cuz he fuckin' put it on the line, too! Do your research, bloggers, all right? Bright Eyes didn't invent having feelings. Just sayin'. Not a big deal, but people had feelings before Conor Oberst came along. Yeah buddy. I work for my money, honey.
Ha, that's funny. Thanks for sharing that Craig.
But, um, it's not because they have feelings and they lay them on the line. It's because his voice sounds like Conor Oberst.
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