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.

The unabashed plug: Action Painters

Cue the wiki:

Action painting, sometimes called "gestural abstraction", is a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied. The resulting work often emphasizes the physical act of painting itself as an essential aspect of the finished work or concern of its artist.

A comparison is often drawn between the American action painting and the French tachisme.

Fade in bio excerpts:

2006… Tom Haslow (guitar/vox)… Amit Wehle (drums)… Allison Zatarain (keys)… began rehearsing in a frigid Brooklyn basement… Joe Hankin [guitar]… Ray Heekin(bass).

[B]listering, irresistible tunes carried by Haslow's confident, Verlainian tenor, groove-punk rhythms, soaring choruses and deadly hooks.... art rock for the masses, pop you can love the morning after, played by art school nerds who grew up cool.

Their 2007 debut, Chubby Dancer, is solid all the way through, at times wearing post-punk influences shamelessly well, at others shedding them and showing off an original brand of sunny guitar pop that might have lingered and transformed in the night.

It's a sound that should resonate perfectly in the walls of the Southside's Lava Lounge, where they’re playing Thursday night with Triggers. You should go.

Meanwhile, download their new 3-song EP, Lay That Cable, at the band’s website or on iTunes.

New tracks and upcoming shows

Granted, some of these shows are more than a month out, but they're worth keeping on your calendars. Here are a few songs that have fallen instantly into regular rotation on my media player this week:

Crocodiles – “Summer of Hate” (Mediafire link)
Action Painters – “456” * (Mediafire link)
Eulogies – “This Fine Progression” (Mediafire link)
White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun” (Mediafire link)

Crocodiles will be at the 31st Street Pub this Sunday. Then, Action Painters on April 30 at Lava Lounge, Eulogies May 8 at Diesel, and White Rabbits way off in the distance on the 6th of June at Brillobox.

As always, all of our recommendations for upcoming shows are on the sidebar at right.

* Not technically a new song, but new to me, and on the new Lay That Cable EP.