Let me open with some full disclosure: most of my experience with the Walkmen is with their brand spanking new 2010 release, Lisbon. With that in mind, I was expecting a fairly diverse yet mellow set at Royale Thursday night. However, I grew worried when I mentioned this to a group of veteran fans before the show, and they disagreed. They seemed psyched for an energetic set much more along the lines of their hit "The Rat" than most of the material from Lisbon. Where did the Walkmen land? As you would guess, somewhere in the middle.
One thing I can agree with those fans on: there are songs the Walkmen should open sets with…and then there is "Blue As Your Blood." I'm not sure how much of the blame for a largely apathetic audience can be laid on the tone set by the first song, but from the get-go there wasn't much energy in the crowd. My question for the band is this: if you're going to play "Angela Surf City" second in your set, why not grab the bull by the horns and make it your opener? As much fun as you would think the anthemic chorus in that song would be live, it was even better. I wonder if the audience would've been more into the whole show if just those two songs were switched.
The fortunate thing for the Walkmen is that despite the lukewarm approval from the crowd, I thought their sound was absolutely fantastic. Drummer Matt Barrick is a machine, showing a remarkable ability to drive through epic choruses, and then play a soothing backbeat on slower songs. And of course, Hamilton Leithauser was engaging to watch and a pleasure to listen to. While perhaps not every song was a roof-raiser, I really appreciated his ability to change his tone for slow songs like "While I Shovel the Snow" and "Donde Esta la Playa," then scream with the audience through "Victory."
I guess the issue at hand for those who didn't love the show is a slight disconnect between expectations and delivery (and between horn section and no horn section). And I can see how if you were expecting to be bouncing off the walls for two hours, this show may not have been what you were looking for. But Lisbon showed some growth for the Walkmen, giving their sound a really satisfying diversity, and naturally that development was going to make its way onto the stage. If you go (and I highly recommend it!), check out Lisbon first, go to the show with open ears, and I promise you'll have a blast. And don't worry--you can still jump up and down during "The Rat".
