Concert review: Action Painters at Lava Lounge

For at least two weeks now, the Action Painters’ debut album, Chubby Dancer, has been in heavy rotation for me. If I had it on vinyl, it would show serious wear along the grooves of “456” and “Sooner or Later.” So my hopes were high last night when they opened for Triggers in the Southside. Thankfully, they killed.

Despite some terrible preshow decision-making (they actually ate the food at Jack’s), the band brought to Lava Lounge a live energy I haven’t seen anywhere in a long while. Leader Tom Haslow began the set unassumingly with soft vocals and clean Les Paul tones on “How Could It Be So Wrong?” and as the song built up power, voices in the crowd began to hush and people took notice: these guys meant business.

After sitting with their album a few weeks, I expected seasoned art-rock veterans who had learned precision and restraint from long years and past projects, but the band on the whole is relatively young. Haslow’s voice in particular carries more age than his face lets on. Thurston Moore, J. Mascis, and Tom Verlaine all come to mind, but his passion comes through when he sings, making the vocals distinctly his own. His lyrics are genuine and his delivery is heartfelt, even when the songs seem apathetic on the surface.

Early in the set they unleashed “456” and “Sooner or Later” back to back, and a few more heads from the front room began to filter back to the stage area. They hit their stride, and even an overzealous fan who had followed the band down from the prior night’s show in Cleveland (are they all animals up there?) couldn’t break it. While some bands might have been bothered, Allison Zatarain glowed in the face of his uneven 22nd century dance moves that threatened to tip her double-stacked keys, and Haslow actually seemed to feed off the excitement and raise the stakes.

Which is another point worth making: Action Painters’ stage presence also belies their youth. Haslow commands the mic, and between verses turns to Joe Hankin (also on guitar) and Ray Heekin (bass) for short, explosive jams. Through it all, Amit Wehle keeps the beats simple and solid, giving even the Painters’ rawer tunes something the masses can grab onto. Though I didn’t expect their layered songs to lend themselves all that well to live performance, the Painters really do give them life in concert.

After rocking through “Absolutely Clear,” the band closed out with the synth-heavy poppers “Supermarket” and “Money Changes Everything.” It’s on those tunes that you might hear a bit of Talking Heads’ influence on the Painters’ approach. They have the essential ability to take what could be standard powerpop hooks and melodies and twist them into something far more interesting, at once danceable and thoughtful.

This is absolutely a band on its way up. With plans of a full-length release and a second tour later this year, the Action Painters can expect serious success if they continue to build on what they’ve already constructed in a relatively short period of time. After Thursday's show I would expect that they shine even brighter in a venue with a little more space to spread out, so it would be great to see them book somewhere like Brillobox or Thunderbird next time through town. I'll be keeping a close eye on their progress, continuing to hope for the best.