Pela, The Cribs, Devendra Banhart

Last night at Bowery Ballroom I was surrounded by an armada of badge-holders, all looking upon my barren lanyard-bare neck as an industry-outsider peon. Humiliated at my lack of connections to obtain one –or sheer laziness to even try- I was forced to just enjoy myself, and drink. At one point there was a distinct gradation of age from the front of the room to the back. Neither old, nor young, I took my spot in the middle.

Pela (pronounced Pay-la, not Peh-la, like I thought) were a nice surprise and they really knew how to rock. Local boys, I guess they are playing next week for that Hurrican benefit show(s).

The Cribs were every bit as awesome as I hoped. I’d give them a 3.0 on a scale of 1 to 3.5. I was surprised to discover that both bassist guitarist sing lead vocals equally, trading lines back and forth. I wonder if that’s why sometimes I don’t hear ‘L’s pronounced: “I’m awone, and I’m cowd, Just another number…” They closed with my favorite song “The Wrong Way to Be” and caused a little mayhem on stage at the end. In fact, the lead guitar was fairly aggressive throughout the set –contrasted by the bassist’s demeanor.

Wholly uninterested for Bean and Holy Fuck, I chilled in the “Spin Lounge” downstairs. Leafing through the copies of Spin that were laid out, I realized it’s not the same cool magazine I thought it was when I was 13.

Devendra Banhart, of course, closed the night. I was worried that the Hairy Fairy would destroy the preciousness of his songs. Fortunately, the performance only disappointed twice –when Banhart didn’t have the lead -both songs were Hairy Fairy songs I think- too hippie and not enough folk. When he did have the lead, he carried just as much animation as Jake Shears. In fact, near the end, the songs did more resembled the Scissor Sisters than something off of “Rejoicing in the Hands."