2nd November 2010

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The Strange Boys and Natural Child at the Knitting Factory

Well, this is a bit later than I normally like to post concert reports, and the next one couple will probably be kind of late too, but, well, shit’s busy, okay? I’m sorry, I’m sorry! New, cool stuff is coming up, we swears!

Natural Child, gettin’ all psychedelic…

Going into this show, I didn’t really know much about Natural Child, so, being a pessimist, I went in to things not expecting anything stellar. I’d also hyped myself up for the Strange Boys by listening to the songs “Be Brave” and “This Girl Taught Me a Dance” several times. I set myself up for a pleasant surprise and a kind of bummer, both in the same night.

A couple o’ the Strange Boys. God I suck.

I’ll get the bummer out of the way first. Strange Boys? Not that awesome. To be honest, I had sort of forgotten that, aside from a handful of genuinely awesome songs, they don’t really have a lot of great material. I’ve been kind of underwhelmed by both of their records, and their set at the Knitting Factory last Thursday was another not-as-amazing-as-I’d-like one. But, here’s the bright side of things. They do have some songs that I think are truly awesome (the aforementioned ones, in particular), and I get the feeling that they will be a great band at some point. The elements are clearly present, but, as things stand right now, they’re still just shy of awesome. Thursday-night-specific issue: I could have used more sax in the mix Thursday night, I couldn’t really hear it, and it was sorely missed on “Be Brave.”

Drummers (like the one above, from Natural Child) make the best goofs.

Now, the pleasant surprise: Natural Child fucking kills! They hit on all sorts of awesome — from catchy, Stooges-inspired riffs to acid-garage grooves — and the chatter in between songs was legitimately funny, in a personal, conversational way. Not “shtick” and not “banter.” I guess I shouldn’t really be surprised; guest-contributor Leigh mentioned the group in her write-up of Scion Garage Fest, and called them “an integral part of everything I currently love that’s coming out of Nashville lately.” Sign me on to the Natural Child-fan-party. They’re in it to win it. And any band that makes jokes about Eric Clapton’s baby has all the punk rock cred you need.

Tagged: Knitting FactoryNatural ChildStrange BoysWHATTA BUNCH A YUK-A-LUKShonkers and squeakersstuck in thee garagestooges