Friday night at the Knitting Factory was an exercise in comparison, a back-to-back pairing that drew attention to the respective strengths of two buzzing bands. Where opener Free Energy rode rock riffs with reckless abandon, headliner Foreign Born featured a controlled set of tunes with more substance underneath. There was something for everyone, but perhaps not enough for some.
Free Energy took the stage first, full of ebullience and, um, energy. It was clear that the Philly natives were enjoying themselves; smiles abounded on stage, and the music pumped with an electricity that was contagious. The freshest faces in Strokes-derivative rock, the boys of Free Energy shoulder the burden of high expectations. They don’t seem to know it, though, carrying themselves without a trace of self-consciousness.
From the get-go Free Energy rocked hard, guitars amped to the top of the mix. The notes rang clear and packed a punch, and songs like “Bang Pop,” “Free Energy,” and “Dream City” showed the band’s potential. There’s no denying that the songs are catchy, and Free Energy exploits that catchiness for all that it’s worth. They’re not afraid to play up a pregnant pause, to let a note drift before striking it home with a snare pop or a power chord. In fact, that touch of melodrama was present in nearly every song the band played, a sort of puerile jubilation acknowledging that while the spotlight is on, they’re in control. And when they’re in control, anything goes. There’s a reason Free Energy draws comparisons to the devil-may-care rockers of old while still appealing to modern fans of mainstream pop.
At times, though, the ease and confidence of Free Energy is so exaggerated that it comes off as a fault. Rather than simply making the most of their comfort on stage, the band seems to take advantage of it. It’s a bit uncanny, but Free Energy’s cockiness—combined with an ample supply of obnoxious fanboys in the pit—makes you almost want to dislike them. “Touring with Foreign Born has been really awesome,” said frontman Paul Sprangers, in a moment of sincerity. But he didn’t stop there, continuing, “mostly for them, since they get to hang out with us.” A raucous fan in the crowd replied in kind: “Who the fuck are Foreign Born?!” It left a sour taste in my mouth; that’s no way to treat your elders.
And elders they are. Visually, Foreign Born separates themselves immediately from the boyish members of Free Energy. This is no fledgling rock outfit; Foreign Born has been touring for years, slogging it out on the road to get noticed. It shows through in their music, too. More subdued than their predecessors, Foreign Born was also more nuanced. Opening track “Early Warnings” set the tone with layered drums and vocals, punctured occasionally by stellar guitar solos from Lewis Pesacov reminiscent of Paul Simon or Vampire Weekend’s afro-tinged pop.
In contrast to Free Energy, whose members reveled in the spotlight, Foreign Born was content to play as an ensemble, letting each instrument take a turn at carrying songs without overshadowing the rest of the group. Embodying this feeling was the bassist’s request to the light man: “Can we turn the lights down and make it dim?” With the lights lowered, the show became intimate, focused more on the music than the spectacle of the thing.
Perhaps it was that presence of non-western influences, or perhaps it was simply the band’s unassuming stage presence, but Foreign Born just seemed more worldly than Free Energy. On stage, they struck me as a patient band, confident in the music they are making, even in the absence of continuous affirmation. Free Energy’s set was enjoyable; indeed, they perhaps showcased more raw potential for success than Foreign Born did. But where Free Energy’s fans whooped, hollered and moshed, Foreign Born’s slowly shook their heads and said in wonder, “Man, those guitars.” It was a striking difference.
