Harlem Charms the Empty Bottle
By Sarah Cobarrubias in Arts & Entertainment on May 4, 2010 4:40PM
The guys from Harlem are so nonchalant they didn’t even bother to write a setlist for their show Saturday night at the Empty Bottle because, as they opened their set by saying, “We just don’t like to write setlists.” That’s just a part of the don’t-give-a-fuck charm of this lo-fi garage rock band. But that’s not to say the show wasn’t good - the trio managed to deliver a vibrant set while still maintaining the laid-back, happily stoned vibe we’ve come to know them for.
They played mostly tracks from their sophomore album, Hippies, released just last month through Matador Records. Much like their set, the album has that lo-fi, loose and sloppy feel. Even its title (which we assume is a joke, as their aesthetic is more '50s rock and roll than flower power) possesses the same smart-ass quality as their onstage banter; their playful stage presence was a big chunk of the set, as they took time between songs to tease each other as well as the crowd. The band’s core duo, Michael Coomer and Curtis O'Mara, shared duties on guitar, vocals and drums, switching back and forth throughout the show and keeping the stage in an exciting state of flux.
Among the dozen or so songs they played Saturday night were some of our favorites , like “Gay Human Bones,” “Friendly Ghost” and “Be Your Baby.” Almost all were under three minutes, delivered in powerful short bursts of catchy hooks, pounding bass lines and gritty, wailing vocals. The crowd sang along to hits like “Someday Soon,” which serenades with a mellow melody, “Someday soon, you'll be on fire and you'll ask me for a glass of water. And I'll say no, you can just let that shit burn." They certainly had no trouble keeping the crowd aroused, and even before they could begin their last song the audience was already screaming ‘encore,’ which of course Harlem delivered.
Though Hippies was truly an enjoyable album, we couldn’t really appreciate Harlem until we saw them live. The fuzzy, studio-free sound of the recording fits all too well into the current low fidelity wave, which may seem a bit ungenuine when it’s in digital form and backed up by a big name label like Matador. But live, the music is enhanced by their charismatic, frisky stage presence and the blissful high they seem to get from performing, evident by their eyes-closed crooning and goofy, euphoric grins.
Check out Harlem’s brand new video for “Gay Human Bones.”