The Horrors Remain Horrible

Via NME: The Horrors have been thrown out of their own gig at the Great Scott venue in Allston, Boston after a fracas.

According to Boston Herald blog, three quarters through their set on Monday (March 13), singer Faris Badwan climbed onto a ledge and grabbed a two foot tall porcelain bust of Elvis Presley from near the ceiling of the venue. He then carried the bust back to the stage and smashed it onto the dancefloor of the venue. This caused the set to be aborted and the band were told the leave the venue. A brief scuffle then allegedly took place between Badwan and a member of staff as the band left, with the singer later telling the local paper he was spat on during the incident.

I'm not even going to comment on this one. Read Jen and my less than stellar reviews of their CMJ Studio B showcase, here & here!

Somebody, please make this band disappear!

Posted on 9:22 AM / 0 comments / Read More

The Horrors (and Ra Ra Riot) @ Studio B, 11/3: Oh the Horror

I know Matt talked about this night already (and I was supposed to recap The Horrors ages ago) but I thought I would mention again how much we really loved Ra Ra Riot. When we first saw them, the reaction from the blogger mafia was, "Are these people in the band?" They really don't look like your typical indie group. They sort of look like they are from the north shore of LI/Northern Jersey/Orange County. Apparently they are from Syracuse though and unfortunately, I have no frame of reference for that place. And now I have lost track of why I am writing this... anyway, me likey. Go check them out. They were in close competition with O'death for band of the month on Deli Magazine and in the end, won out.

Okay, onto The Horrors. Never in my opinion, has a band been so appropriately named.

The Horrors are made up of quiet, dismal, goth teenagers from Essex (a place one would normally not associate with goth and dismal but rather blond and bimboish- sorry Essex). Their one goal seems to be: commit as many acts of destruction on stage as possible. At Studio B, one of them decided that pulling down the metal curtain separating the stage from the lounge area seemed like a good idea. The management thought otherwise and promptly disbatched two bouncers on stage, one of whom seconds later had to stop the lead singer from bashing someone in the head with his mike stand and then spent the remainder of the concert standing watch at the curtain. I was not amused, actually, I was rather pissed. I go to a lot of shows, deal with a lot of bouncers and guards and know that they deserve more respect than some punk 19 year old taunting them on stage.

Unlike Matt, who couldn't garner the will to stay for the remainder of their set after the curtain fall, I stayed. I stood at the side of the stage for a while and then sat down and read a magazine. The Horrors aren't new or interesting. They haven't yet discovered their place in the musical world. They could be the darker Darkness or a metal version of the moody, intelligent Editors but their music really isn't there yet. It needs some focus, the songs need distinction, they need to realise that screaming along to a base line does not a song make and as a group, I think they may need a nanny.

Posted on 2:00 PM / 0 comments / Read More

Post #950: The Thermals & Ra Ra Riot & The Horrors @ Studio B (CMJ Day 4)

On Friday night, Jen and I took to the outstretches of Greenpoint to check out the Product Shop NYC-curated CMJ evening. The line-up was quite stellar and diverse, with everybody from NME-buzzers to up-and-rising indie bands to local faves on the bill. Sadly we were still getting ourselves situated and into the venue when Sam Champion was doing their shtick, but from the little we heard, it sounded alright.



The first full act I saw was The Thermals. By the time the Portland act came on, Studio B was completely packed. With good reason, might I add! The band sounded tight during their 35-minute set. It's easy to see why all the hype is being generated in their direction. They can easily become a household name next to Spoon or The New Pornographers. Everybody loved them on Friday, and I haven't got one bitchy thing to say. Can't wait to see them again.

MP3: 'How We Know'

Next up was the relatively unknown, Ra Ra Riot. In spite of what Chris declared in his post about the band, your sluts were loving Ra Ra Riot.



The Syracuse natives feature a cello, violin, keyboard, bass, drums and guitar in their live show and on their recordings. To some extent, the multitude of instruments might feel a bit overdone at this point, Ra Ra Riot proved that it can be done right, their own way. Ending their set with a great great cover of 'Hounds Of Love', I'm eager to hear what's next for Ra Ra Riot.


It seems that their next NYC show is on 12/13 at Sin-e. Check out some tunes of theirs on their MySpace page!

Ok, now it was time for The Horrrors. The NME cover boys, the next best thing since sliced bread, the... worst band I've ever seen live in my entire life!!


I'll let Jen put up the proper review of The Horrors as she stayed for entire 25 minute set (I don't know how she managed it) and I left after about 7. Maybe 6. Contrived, predictable, excessively loud and just simply BAD. Two thumbs up on all that teased hair though, Robert Smith would be so proud!

Posted on 12:35 PM / 0 comments / Read More

Post #950: The Thermals & Ra Ra Riot & The Horrors @ Studio B (CMJ Day 4)

On Friday night, Jen and I took to the outstretches of Greenpoint to check out the Product Shop NYC-curated CMJ evening. The line-up was quite stellar and diverse, with everybody from NME-buzzers to up-and-rising indie bands to local faves on the bill. Sadly we were still getting ourselves situated and into the venue when Sam Champion was doing their shtick, but from the little we heard, it sounded alright.



The first full act I saw was The Thermals. By the time the Portland act came on, Studio B was completely packed. With good reason, might I add! The band sounded tight during their 35-minute set. It's easy to see why all the hype is being generated in their direction. They can easily become a household name next to Spoon or The New Pornographers. Everybody loved them on Friday, and I haven't got one bitchy thing to say. Can't wait to see them again.

MP3: 'How We Know'

Next up was the relatively unknown, Ra Ra Riot. In spite of what Chris declared in his post about the band, your sluts were loving Ra Ra Riot.



The Syracuse natives feature a cello, violin, keyboard, bass, drums and guitar in their live show and on their recordings. To some extent, the multitude of instruments might feel a bit overdone at this point, Ra Ra Riot proved that it can be done right, their own way. Ending their set with a great great cover of 'Hounds Of Love', I'm eager to hear what's next for Ra Ra Riot.


It seems that their next NYC show is on 12/13 at Sin-e. Check out some tunes of theirs on their MySpace page!

Ok, now it was time for The Horrrors. The NME cover boys, the next best thing since sliced bread, the... worst band I've ever seen live in my entire life!!


I'll let Jen put up the proper review of The Horrors as she stayed for entire 25 minute set (I don't know how she managed it) and I left after about 7. Maybe 6. Contrived, predictable, excessively loud and just simply BAD. Two thumbs up on all that teased hair though, Robert Smith would be so proud!

Posted on 12:35 PM / 0 comments / Read More