What a great, great show last night. From top to bottom I highly enjoyed all three bands. Got to the Mercury Lounge (not before having my obligatory cheesesteak at the Cheesestake Factory beforehand…actually got the chicken this time which was just OK)…anyway, got to the Mercury Lounge at the beginning of The White Rabbits set. This first thing that caught my eye about this Brooklyn based band is they have two drummers…and not in that one is on drums and one is on percussion, but two actual drummers with full on drum kits. In sync when they had to be and at not one time did I think the drums were too much. The lead singer on guitar was fine, but things were at their peak when the keyboard player would take the vox. Looking forward to checking out this local band again in the near future.
Next up was the trio from Toronto Born Ruffians. Their onstage antics and the drumming stylings of Steve Hamelin reminded me of Man Man (which is a complete compliment). At first lead singer/guitarist Luke LaLonde looks like he is out of place with his bandmates, but then you quickly see the commradory with their pre-set huddle song. Luke is a shy frontman (or backman since his mic was actually behind the rest of the band), but he has got a good indie voice and engaging lyrics. They played a lot of new material (at least that is what they claimed…I wouldn’t have known the difference) and did a nice cover of Grizzly Bear’s “The Knife“. A solid fun set from the Born Ruffians…Canada would be proud. They are playing at the Mercury Lounge again on Wednesday if you wanna check them out.
And to put a perfect cap on the evening was Peter, Bjorn & John. This was their second NYC show ever (they played a secret warm-up gig the night before at Union Hall in Brooklyn) and PB&J were loving it. A packed and surprisingly (for a bunch of hipsters) energetic crowd gave these Stockholm natives a warm and highly supportive reception. Their set was far from perfect, but nobody seemed to care…hey it’s hard singing in English when you speak Swedish. Constant funny stage banter kept everyone happy and gave us all a sense of intimacy with the band. They were having fun, we were having fun…and the music wasn’t that bad either. The highlight of the night would have to be when Victoria Bergsman came up to sing “Young Folks”…great song and the reason I bought my ticket in the first place. She is just so shy and innocent…such a nice song. “Young Folks” was followed by a stripped down and unique version of “Amsterdam”…the only other song I had heard before the show. I had high expectations for this show and PB&J delivered.
Wish I had a ticket to see them again tonight at the Bowery Ballroom. They are on the accelerated NYC venue track…Union Hall -> Mercury Lounge -> Bowery Ballroom…they are squeezing in what bands have to do over months into three short days…quite a first trip. And unlike I talked about with the Cold War Kids…Peter, Bjorn & John are ready for any venue you give them. Not sure when, but these guys will be back and I expect they’ll be playing Webster Hall.

Peter, Bjorn & John – Mercury Lounge – 1/29/07
Let’s Call It Off
(I Just Wanna) See Through
The Chills
Paris 2004
Far Away, By My Side
Start to Melt
Big Black Coffin
Young Folks (w/ Victoria Bergsman & Lars)
Amsterdam
Detects On My Affection
Up Against the Wall
Teen Love
I Don’t Know What I Want to Do
Collect, Select, Reflect

Earlier that day Peter, Bjorn & John were on Conan O’Brien and I got home just in time to catch them performing “Young Folks”. Here is the clip on YouTube: