Passion Pit & The Harlem Shakes @ Black Cat
The Harlem Shakes' Kendrick Strauch. Photo by Nathaniel Poteet.
I used to belong to a small and ever-shrinking group of casual Passion Pit fans who think that while the band's music has merit and hooks galore, there is something about singer Michael Angelakos' voice that is untenable. The Beach Boys are the go-to reference for any band that employs a significant amount of male falsetto, and theirs was an effortless complement to, and focal point of, that dreamy pop. But Angelakos, on the other hand, sings in a Pterodactyl shriek of a falsetto that was initially so distracting to me that I wrote the band off completely. But last night at the Black Cat, I changed my mind. Wrapped in the booming bass and twinkling keys of his band-mates, Angelakos' voice was less shrill and, dare I say, an integral part of a really fun show. I would now simply say, "I'm a fan."
The story of the genesis of Passion Pit has been echoed everywhere, but it goes something like this. While Angelakos was attending Emerson College in Beantown, he recorded a few electro-pop tracks as a Valentine's Day gift to his then-girlfriend. He casually dispersed the songs to friends, but soon his cuts were swirling around the campus and the Interwebs. These six songs became the Chunk of Change EP and Angelakos' bedroom project was thoroughly embraced by music blogs. For me there is no comparison between their first EP and their latest full-length Manners, which came out in May. The latter is a much more polished, single-filled and mature record that will probably end up on many year-end Top Ten lists.
It's no wonder then that last night's show was completely sold out. While it was clear that most people were there for the headliners, a pretty crowd of girls in headbands and boys in v-necks showed up a little early and were treated to a solid set from The Harlem Shakes. During a very involved sound check, the sextet explained that some of their gear had been stolen in Richmond the night before. Lord knows what said gear could have been, given that the stage was packed with instruments including a variety of guitars, keys, drum kits and even a few horns. Though they had enough electric gear to start and end the set that way, they gave the D.C. crowd a seemingly unexpected acoustic treat in the middle, attributing the re-arranged tunes to the missing gear. The reasoning was a bit suspicious, and while we'd have preferred a larger, louder set, we can't complain about the musical agility to reboot your set list at the last minute, or about the addition of a rock floutist. It gave the show the feel of one of the more kick ass Sesame Street skits. And that's a good thing.
While the Harlem Shakes's sound is nothing like Passion Pit, it is a lot like another huge indie band, Vampire Weekend. If one dances to Passion Pit, one probably bops to The Shakes. They opened with "TFO," a song that required a significant amount of drum rim wacking, and has a catchy chorus of, "We got time to waste some time, we got time to waste some time now." The crowd reacted well to their single "Technicolor Health" and to "Winter Water" (a pretty blatant rip-off of Weezer's, "My Name is Jonas," at times) with its sing-along chorus of "Ohs" and, later, "Nahs." Their singer, Lexy Benaim, employs a bit of Dylan's nasal twang, (not a bad thing here) which is most noticeable on "Nothing But Change Part II," a great track. The Shakes played an energetic set and their lack of "gear" certainly didn't affect their performance.
Near the front, personal space be damned, the crowd compressed and waited. Passion Pit was greeted with a loud roar as they filed on stage. Angelakos looks about as Greek as his name suggests, with dark plumes of hair, a beard, and pillowed cheeks. Behind him the drummer rocked a pair of huge white headphones and was flanked by an energetic keyboardist who howled along to most songs and mouthed his keystrokes. Their were pockets of hardcore fans who bounced approvingly to opener, "Better Things," off the band's first EP. More people got on board with, "Let Your Love Grow Tall," but it wasn't until "Little Secret" that everyone woke up. The song, which should be their next single, is essentially Madonna's, "Holiday," and some of us have been known to sing the 80's hit over the opening synth lines of Passion Pit's version... in the shower or car, wherever really. Try it.
"Sleepyhead," which appears on both Manners and Chunk of Change also got a huge reaction from the crowd. The live version had significantly more bass and power than the studio version, making the wobbly instrumental chorus a prime jumping, hands-in-the-air moment. Passion Pit raced through their set in about 40 minutes, ending with, "Smile On Me." They remained off-stage for seconds, listening to chants from the crowd, before returning to play their big single, "The Reeling." And just like that it was over. Way too short.
Later that night at Wonderland, I shook Angelakos' hand, mumbled a "thank you," and briefly felt tall. Then, I went home to listen to Passion Pit again with a new set of slightly deaf ears.