PSH rocks out, Jonah Hill harmonizes.

I'm not sure how I feel that yesterday was my 3rd Bang Camaro experience. I guess, if hard-pressed, I would go with "fine". For those of you not in the know, Bang Camaro is a metal band from Boston who's claim to fame is their use of 3 guitarists and anywhere from 10-15 vocalists yelling lyrics like " Rock it up!/Lock it down!/Rock it right!/Bring the night!" and so on. I don't really have any problems with this - they have killer guitarists and a really phenomenal drummer.

My issue is with their decision, at this most recent concert, to venture into the land of harmony. The way I see it, the awesome thing about Bang Camaro is the impact of 15 dudes yelling lyrics in unison. If you throw 3-part harmony in there, all of a sudden they sound alot less like Motorhead and unsettlingly more like Bon Jovi. If theyre going to do any harmony, it should be 5ths and that's it. Power chord style. Also, one of the singers looks like Jonah Hill with a peach-fuzz goatee. And another dude kept putting his hand to his ear, like he's trying to locate the pitch while 14 other guys yell borderline incoherently. Trying to locate your pitch Stevie Wonder style is another action that in my mind is antithetical to the Bang Camaro vision statement, such as it is.


On the other hand, the Giraffes seem abundantly clear on how to sell themselves. According to Alex, its by sounding "like Badmotorfinger-era Soundgarden." I guess they do, kind of, although the lead singer, Aaron Lazar, has a half-spoken, half-singing style that reminds me of the Hold Steady. In any case, he's pretty impressive on stage, managing to yell over the on point guitar work of founder Damien Paris. Who, by the way, plays a lefty guitar, which is re-strung so it looks like its a righty guitar that just got flipped over by a lefty. Weird, but also, awesome.

And as a final thought - everyone should try and see shows at Bowery Ballroom when they can. It's a great venue.