College football's new season began this week. New York-based Suckers certainly noticed -- the recent leg of their current tour has been fraught with empty venues. In a college town, it's a predictable phenomenon caused by getting too drunk during game day to last through the night. I certainly hope that's why so few people came out to see Suckers' debut appearance in Lawrence on Saturday night. Unfazed by the small crowd, the Brooklyn quartet brought a high-energy, colorfully loud, hip-shaking good time to the Jackpot, proving Suckers is one of the best shows you aren't seeing.
The night kicked off with Big City Livin', Sean Wilson's one-man band project that showcases his ability to stay on beat and in tune while gyrating wildly and bending over backwards. He also sings into a vocal distortion microphone that he has rigged to a pair of headphones, so that he becomes the visual equivalent of a robot insect (but one you'd want to be friends with). Wilson played a only a small handful of songs, the highlight of which was his cover of Solomon Burke's "Cry to Me", made famous by Patrick Swayze and Dirty Dancing.
Next up was Motorboater, the electronic darling of Kansas City's Record Machine label. Upon first glance, Dan Eaton is like a shy, apologetic schoolboy, but then he steps behind his laptop and it's as if his hazy electro-pop reanimates him into a dreamscape genius. Layering live vocals on top of spaced-out digital pop sounds and well-timed, dancing drum beats, the Motorboater experience is like being in digital heaven (and being on drugs). And it was certainly enough to get Quinn Walker, lead singer of Suckers, on his feet and dancing in a sincere showing of local music support.
When Suckers finally took their turn, they were a bit sauced, but definitely ready to get up on stage and get down with the rock. Walker appeared to either have a penchant for smoky model-eye makeup -- or he had a black eye. Either way his tripped-out vocal falsetto stylings and tendency to stare off towards awkward places while twisting his hands into the air was like watching a mime on drugs. While he banged on an extra bass drum for dance beat emphasis, guitarist Austin Fisher crafted impressively distorted riffs and layered his own vocal harmonies with Walker's, creating so much sound I was confused about where it was all coming from.
On "Black Sheep", the quartet paused for an acapella moment of vocal bliss, sending their spot-on harmonies reverberating through the Jackpot's walls and causing just about everyone in the room to stop and stare. Just when the sound tangled into a bizarre pop dream, the distortion and fuzz kicked back in, the beat picked up, and the crowd was launched back in to solid rock reality. Suckers drifted expertly into the next song, a new wave throwback called "Afterthoughts & TV" that built into an aural spectacle, a la New Pornographers or MGMT. (In fact, Quinn Walker's voice is a lot like Dan Bejar's--slightly odd but archaically grotesque and beautiful.)
Despite the small crowd, Walker leaned into the mic and, after a long carnivalesque laugh, shouted "I'm having fun!" On that note, Suckers launched into their last song, "It Gets Your Body Moving." The band's hit single is a swaying, thumping pendulum of a song, built around heavy distortion and group sing-a-long style vocals. It was a great way to end an impressive -- albeit short -- show, and their first experience playing in Lawrence. I asked the guys after the show if they were disappointed in the turnout, and in true rock and roll happy-to-be-on-tour fashion, they just smiled and said they were having a great time, and would definitely be back.
Critic's Bias: I was definitely charmed by how nice and personable Austin Fisher was when I interviewed him last week.
Overheard in the Crowd: "That's what happens when you get drunk with a tattoo artist."
Random Notebook Dump: Turnpike was there filming the whole show. So if you missed it (and let's face it, you did) you can catch the replay on your television.
Setlist:
Roman Candles
You Can Keep Me Runnin' Around
Black Sheep
Afterthoughts & TV
Martha
Before Your Birthday Ends
A Mind I Knew
It Gets Your Body Movin'
Comments (0)