It’s a well known music maxim: to have a great band, you must have a great drummer. The literal heartbeat of the entire enterprise, the drummer can truly make or break one’s sound. True, there are other ways to carve your name into the annals of rock and roll fame, but for budding artists, latching onto a talented drummer can be your ticket to success.
Hey Battlefield has heeded this advice and will surely reap the rewards. With percussive gusto, jazz-drummer Michael Scheideler delivers the tempo from behind the Beat Pulpit, launching the band’s blues/rock sound. The combination of jazzy fills and nuanced flare accents lead singer Jason Rossi’s lyrical style, and blends well with Tyler Krupsky’s driving bass lines. Hey Battlefield, though still new on the scene, should turn some heads.
In an era of music increasingly dominated by electronic sounds and effeminate lyricists, Hey Battlefield provides a sigh of relief for music purists. The three piece band, a staple of the music industry, cuts down the excess, providing the music, and more importantly, the heart behind the music. Rossi’s singing style, reminiscent of a young Tom Waits, and even a little Dylan at times, is a welcomed departure from overly harmonized and auto-tuned whippersnappers.With a bit of polishing, the simplicity of the trio will carry a long way.
The following act however, exemplified the ultimate garage band trio, with undignified sound blasting; the battle-cries of emotional youth. The Demon Beat, who were celebrating their CD Release “Shit, We’re 23″, says it all with their album title. Normally you listen to songs at a concert, but here, the music was merely tolerated. I lasted about 3 songs, before the swooshing hair, slip-ons, and guitar solo’s via teeth got the best of me.
It seems the relative ages of these bands created an incongruous pairing. Though they probably did not choose to play on the same night, the Demon Beat drew the short end of the stick following the act of Hey Battlefield. Their age showed, undoubtedly they had talent, but the show seemed like one big overcompensation. The guitarist using multi-distortion effects to play louder than his bandmates, the bassist swinging his bass all over the stage, the drummer pounding the snare as hard as possible. With age comes a certain refinement, purportedly not found at 23. (Refinement was obviously not their goal).
Advice: Simpler is better. Quieter is louder.
You can catch Hey Battlefield at Joe’s Pub on February 21, 2010.
Demon Beat will be playing SXSW, proving that SXSW is both eclectic, and can be hit or miss.
Piano’s – 158 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002-2377
(212) 505-3733
http://www.pianosnyc.com/
Nine thousand percent positive Hey Battlefield’s bassist went to SB.
Next time, don’t review the band you like fairly and go on to only grunt and groan about the other band’s loudness just because your personal preference for music differs from their style. It turns into a very unprofessional and biased evaluation.
Sorry incontinentalbreakfast, but this review is horrible.
I was at this show, and I can safely say Hey Battlefield was one of the most boring bands I have ever listened to. Unfortunately, I chose that night to be sober, making it much harder to stay awake during that band’s set.
Of course, I am not surprised that you enjoyed them, considering how they have a bit of a following in NYC, illustrated by almost every girl in the crowd wetting themselves when the band was setting up. There was also a completely wasted guy in flannel who enjoyed them, but he would have enjoyed Weezer’s new album by that point.
Anyhow, I shouldn’t so mean. It’s great that you and others enjoyed them. For their style of music, they played well, and they are obviously talented. (I don’t think I could quite rise them up to the comparison of Waits or Dylan though). If you look at other bands during the night, such as Wolff, they also played well for their genre. To me, Wolff was a mix of electronic, dance, and the National Geographic channel – but again, for that type of experimental music – they were good.
Do you see what I am getting at here? You rag on The Demon Beat for being young, loud, and doing “showy” things like the distortions or teeth-playing. Yet, do you understand that they are rock and roll? Hard rock, if you will? Have you ever listened to something in that genre that is NOT loud? Take an example from The Rolling Stones, The Black Keys, or any rock and roll band you can possibly think of. Rock is LOUD. Rock is PASSIONATE. Rock is even all about “showy” things like playing the guitar with your teeth (something some even consider talented, crazy eh?), using multiple pedal distortions, swinging a bass around, and breaking your drums (which happened if you had stayed for the whole concert – though I am sure that would have made you like them even less). And as for criticizing the band because they are young? Take it from someone who is getting a Masters and has already signed his life away to the working world after graduation – take your youth while you can and run with it, just like The Demon Beat AND your favorite Hey Battlefield seem to be doing.
My point is, don’t diss a band just because you didn’t particularly enjoy their genre of music. At least point that distinction out for your readers.
Oh and as for the following gym:
“Demon Beat will be playing SXSW, proving that SXSW is both eclectic, and can be hit or miss.”
Don’t be an asshole.
Oh and typo –
gym = gem.
This is the most pretentious piece of shit review I have ever read. Just a guess, but had the Demon Beat had douche bag mustaches and been a little more “experimental” (i.e. don’t really know how to play the instrument in your hand), they would have proved better in your eyes. Or maybe not. Maybe you have gotten so accustomed to looking down your nose at people that you can’t even see them anymore.
you left after 3 songs, everyone else stayed. that doesn’t really count as drawing the short end of the stick…
apparently this site does not accept negative comments about its writers. awesome.
Is there anyway I could get a copy of this wordpress theme? I’ve been looking on wordpress.org and cant really find anything I like but this would be perfect for me. Thanks in advance!
The theme I use is Vigilence. Pretty simple, I like the lay out.
Cheers
IB