The Dears/Annuals/Pilot Speed (formerly Pilate) -- 1.19.07 -- Webster Hall, NYC

Posted by Jes Tones on 01.26.2007

Could The Dears live up to all of those "Best of" 2006 lists I'd seen them on? And just who are these Annuals? Pilot Speed? I had to see for myself what all this hype was about...

So I never made it to the Emily Haines show on January 9 at Hiro Ballroom -- I sold my soul to corporate America some time ago, and every now and then He comes to collect (usually on nights when I have much better things to do). So sad for me, because it seems to have been her only show in this city for a while. But alas, I’ll keep Knives Don’t Have Your Back spinning and hold out for the next time…

However, my soul was surprisingly un-collected this past weekend, and I had not one but two full nights of live music to collect for myself. The first night was Friday, January 19, 2007 with what I had expected to be a fantastic lineup: Pilot Speed (formerly Pilate) as openers, then Annuals, and The Dears headlining. This was the first time in quite a while that I made sure to hit up the venue by 7 pm to be sure to catch the opening act -- and in hindsight I would’ve been pretty pissed at the end of the night if I hadn’t done so, as Pilot Speed ended up being by far the best performance of the evening.

Pilot Speed

Just as I was making BFFs with the downstairs bartender, I heard some suspiciously sweet sounds coming from the mainstage above. I quickly ascended to find a crowd of only about 30 lads and lasses, captivated already by the intense presence of the night’s openers. PS rocked through only 6 or 7 tunes, with lead singer Todd Clark switching seamlessly from electric guitar to keyboards to acoustic-electric, with very little commentary. Basically we were told they were Pilot Speed from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Clark struggled (nervously?) just to get that out. And still, the comparison that kept coming to mind was the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club show I went to at this same venue almost exactly a year before -- I had no expectations really, but the band totally blew me away and became one of the most memorable shows of the year.

Aside from the surprise factor, musically and aesthetically these boys also reminded me a little bit of BRMC as well, minus the blues-twinged stomp rock element and out of control lighting/production. (They also did not have BRMC’s he’s-so-good-looking-he-can’t-be-human drummer, but we can’t hold that against them…can we?) In sum, these guys are a group to remember and a show I won’t soon forget.

[Pilot Speed]

Annuals

After a surprisingly quick set change, we were greeted by North Carolina sextet the Annuals. Almost immediately after they started playing, my trusty show-partner read my mind and balked, “What is this, School of Rock?!” and it was pretty much all downhill from there. We were confronted with approximately 45 more or less annoying minutes of whistles, tom-toms and maracas, along with the usual suspects (drums, guitars, keyboards, etc.). After the first tune, we made a speedy voyage to the merch booth to score a Pilot Speed disk (one for each of us, no burning -- support the band!), which, by the way, is every bit as kick ass as the show was -- and then to the back of the chamber where we could still hear and see the show, but at a location where we could more importantly hold up the bar and safely commit a little shit-talking.

I was a little surprised though that even at this location, there were several enthusiastic audience associates cheering on this mediocre show we were encountering. But then trusty show-friend reminded me of Hipster Handbook Rule #68: It does not matter if it’s actually good, if it’s weird and quirky with a crimped-hair coma girl in a 50s dress standing in front -- it’s cool. How could I have forgotten.

[Annuals]

The Dears

…What seemed like 100 Heinekens later, finally came The Dears -- another Canadian indie rock outfit, and my main reason for attending the night’s show. I hadn’t even heard any of their music before that night, but had noticed that the album they released last year, Gang of Losers, kept turning up on “Best of” 2006 lists and of course wanted to see for myself.

The result? Well, I’m still a little curious to hear the album, but the show certainly didn’t incite me to run out and get it immediately (or even to wander back over to the merch booth that night). It was ok. Comfy, warm, fuzzy indie rock goodness, but far from greatness. The one thing I will say is that those songs on which keyboardists/backing vocalists Valerie Jodoin-Keaton and Natalia Yanchak (also lead singer Murray Lightburn’s wife, btw) were brought more to the forefront came much closer to greatness than the others. These girls can sing, and should be doing more of it.

So yes, I’ll buy the album...eventually. But the show won’t be going on any of my “Best of” lists for the year. Especially when the first opener of the night unexpectedly and yet delightfully blew them out of the wat….errr…off the stage.

[The Dears]

Saturday’s show? Jay Farrar and Anders Parker = Gob Iron.

The 411: Pilot Speed rocked. I would go see this band again in a second and will be on the lookout. The Dears, well, I'm not sure I buy all the hype surrounding this band, but overall they were not bad. But the Annuals? Skip it. Annually.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]