The Like
The Like, an all lady four piece with a distinct retro appeal, proceeded The Futureheads to the stage in the basement of the First Unitarian Church. Clad in super stylized mod shifts and babydoll dresses they looked exactly like the 60′s girls groups their music in large part emulates. Lead singer Z Berg has an an entrancing voice that volleyed between a lower conversational delivery and lighter sing-song approach. It really took on a richness when her fellow bandmates chimed in to make the harmonies pop but was plenty enjoyable as she bopped through the set. The bassist Charlotte Froom and drummer Tennessee Thomas rocked out ceaselessly the entire show. Plugging through great bass rhythms and smashing all kinds of cymbals with complete abandon gave the music its punky edge. Laena Geronimo, on keys, kept a cooler demeanor than her bandmates for most of the set. Until the last two songs that is, she too then cut loose and joined them in their merry music making. All in all, The Like made for a delightful precursor to the delicious chaos that soon followed.
The Futureheads
Going in to The Futurehead show I was relatively new to their music, I had heard their new album The Chaos plus a few other bits of suggested listening from well established Futurehead fans. I was expecting high energy punk/pop that I could dance my ass off to and, that is exactly what I got but in the finest delivery possible. Coming off of a nearly four year touring hiatus the four boys from Britain took the stage and exploded immediately into “Struck Dumb,” the lead single of the new album, igniting the rabid energy that fueled their entire set.
The Futureheads live show is all about the speed and intensity of their music balanced by an true entertainer’s need to engage and humor the crowd. They filled their surprisingly long set mostly with tracks off of the new album but tossed in a few old ones for the diehard fans. The crowd relished in the groups admittedly silly and frenetic ways dancing along with just as much good spirited craziness as the band. Breaking between songs lead singer Barry Hyde provided amusing anecdotes and backstories for the songs. The new bit “I Can Do That,” for example, was inspired by a British television show from the 80′s that left him with an unfaltering sense of his potential that he felt compelled to write a song. All four band members were visibly excited to be back in front of an audience and it showed in the whir of their fingers over their instruments and the crazy smiles they wore as they bounced around the stage.
The guitars were hard and fast and the drums were loud and precise. These remained the constants of their show while witty lyrics and the occasional riff added some extra flare. At one point Hyde divided the audience half to do an awesome rondo cover of Kate Bush’s “Hounds Of Love.” It was one of the best attempts at audience participation I have ever experienced. To end the show they asked for complete silence so they could tackle the tricky hummed acapella harmonies that start “Jupiter.” They nailed every note of the intro and lathered it into an epic Queen-ish end to the night. The Futureheads are incredible performers the likes of which you rarely see amongst new bands. I do hope they don’t go another four years before coming back through Philly.