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I'm so not rock 'n roll. I shop at the Gap; caffeine is the hardest drug my body can tolerate; and I'm well aware that my strict 11 pm bedtime is somewhat lame. So, when the floors started shaking under the weight of bouncing feet at the Futureheads show, I wasn't in the "This is fuckin' awesome!" camp. I was thinking, "I should call my mother and tell her I love her in case I end up under a pile of rubble." Of course, this sentiment put me in the minority, and when nobody around you shares your irrational fear, you learn pretty quickly to give in and start jumping -- catastrophe be damned.
The floors were my problem to deal with, but the quality of the PA system at Webster Hall is something every New York show-goer fears. It muddied the sound for opening band French Kicks, but the Futureheads managed to gain some clarity -- maybe because they played louder -- and nary a four-part harmony was lost.
The Futureheads drew equally from their two albums, opening with "Yes/No" and "Cope" from this year's News and Tributes and following with "Meantime" off their self-titled debut. Both albums were so well-known by the audience that there were few if any moments when fans stopped singing. As one, they mouthed the words while reaching up to the band in that appreciative, I-had-four-beers-during-the-opener way.
Sometimes when I'm feeling all romantic, I start thinking about how, in a world of six billion people, it's still possible to find a person that's your perfect match. That's tough, but I think it's even more remarkable that four musicians can come together in perfect harmony. The Futureheads share this weird group mind where they function, not as individuals, but as a perfect unit. There was nothing unrehearsed or un-choreographed about the their performance, and their timing was always spot on.
During the oh-oh-oh's that open Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love" (one of the best parts of the first album, each band member's voice popping in your ear in a four-person call and response), the band encouraged the crowd to assist, and we happily erupted in song. Then they leveled the tempo out a bit, mixing in an acoustic version of the slower "Burn". On "Return of the Berserker" -- the new album's shortest and fastest song -- the band actually went berserk. Lead singer Barry Hyde, clad in a sweater vest (maybe he shops at the Gap, too!), looked like a preppy Hendrix, thumping his guitar so furiously that I expected him to start playing with his teeth.
Near the beginning, someone called for the newest single "Skip to the End" and the band responded cheekily with "Well, that's not very nice." (Eventually, after playing a dozen or so songs, they finally obliged, tambourines and all). They rounded out the show with "Decent Days and Nights" and "Carnival Kids", with the audience matching the energy of the music and the floor shaking more than it had all night.
The Futureheads seemed pretty impressed with the devotion of the New York audience, and to be honest, it was an impressive crowd. People who were total strangers before the show introduced themselves, got to know each other, and sang together. No one resisted the temptation to dance; the over-excited backpack kid let the caveman with Robert Smith hair lean on him so he wouldn't fall over. It was sweet, what this band brought out in its fans. No, wait; "sweet" is something you say at 11pm. This, my friends, was fuckin' awesome.
— 24 July 2006
