I Got The Clap

April 9, 2006

Live in Concert / El Rey Theater
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!

March 23rd, 2006

Hipsters’ choice Clap Your Hands Say Yeah invaded L.A. with their first headlining tour, complete with ginormous tour bus. New bands should really still be rocking the econovan, but the Clap’s control of their own distro and wildfire internet talk has given them a well-earned economic advantage. Since the band is so new, I went to the show keeping my expectations low.

The sold-out crowd was significantly more charged than I was, anticipating a show to match the buzz. For the most part, the band was on and delivered. If you’re not a big fan of the singer’s David Byrne/Jeff Mangum voice, the live experience will not work for you, as it’s more nasal and whinging than on record. I don’t mind it so much, and the band itself sounded much better live than on record. The band is much bigger than on the primitively recorded CD, with swarming guitar washes and charmingly bouncy bass riffs.

When the Clap played material like “Lost and Found” and “Yellow Country Teeth,” they were better than the hype, sounding like a band that could take on a festival or arena crowd with ease. The big problem with the band is that just don’t have enough material. They only have a handful of upbeat crowd-pleasers, and stretching those out across the set makes it all lag. After four or five songs, the band really didn’t have any more magic bullets to save the show. For their encore, the band went with their carny talk album intro, which was fun, but not really the stuff of encores.

Since I went in with my head down, the band exceeded my expectations, especially for the first 30 minutes. If they can get their second album in order they’ll be able to have a killer show setup by the time they hit L.A. again.

Posted in From Blown Speakers