Concert Review: The Henry Clay People, Aushua, Le Switch, The Monolators and Balloon Bass live @ Spaceland (12.31.09/ 1.01.10)

By Travis Woods

Photography:  Angela Holtzen

There comes a point when live reviews of certain events or bands, ostensibly meant to inform those who were not there, veers perilously close to simple bragging or a hyperbolic love-fest.  And, at this point, attempting to cover the Henry Clay People–one of the most entertaining and thoroughly to-their-bones rock ‘n roll bands in Los Angeles–on New Year’s Eve of all nights, feels so much like exuberant, I-was-there boasting as to be almost inappropriate.  Add to that the presence of a spectacular, and particularly searing, opening lineup featuring Aushua, Le Switch, and the Monolators (and, in full disclosure, this was a show that Web in Front co-presented with Aquarium Drunkard) and this live review could neatly dovetail into pure adulation and starry-eyed rock fandom.

Which, by the way, it totally does: New Year’s Eve 2009 may well have been the best local-rock-band show I’ve seen since, well, New Year’s Eve 2008 with, you guessed it, the Henry Clay People.   And, if you wanted to kiss–or kick–the last decade goodbye with a soundtrack of beloved local music seasoned with treasured rock covers, would there be a better band to do it with?

Following the strangely hypnotic and always-entertaining Balloon Bass, the Monolators attacked their opening set with a vicious, limb-flailed frenzy, with frontman Eli Chartkoff riding the nimble, marrow-smashing rhythms of bassist Ashley Jex and wife Mary Chartkoff like Nick Cave’s skinny younger brother, all throat-peeling howls and mad-preacher abandon, while guitarist Ray Gurrola sent off one spiky and nerve-tangled riff after another.  When the band erupted with the melodic sneer of “Ruby, I’m Changing My Number,” complete with Eli running through the crowd, his wire-tangled mic stand dragging behind him like lashing metal tail, it was a shot of punkish bliss that cemented the Monolators’ status as one of L.A. indie’s most reliably anarchic and underrated acts.

Le Switch quickly followed with a salvo of gritty, sweaty and bare-knuckled rock.  Pared down to a four-piece, the band’s bluesy and boozy sound has become harder and rougher-edged, matching itself evenly against frontman Aaron Kyle’s nicotine’d roar.  And while Le Switch’s sound occasionally takes dark turns into alleyways of emotional turbulence, last Thursday night was about having a good time–something the band met head-on, most especially with a surprising cover of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” that nearly stole the show as it forced the increasingly alcohol-fueled legs in the audience to begin tapping, hopping and dancing.

Aushua was next, bringing with them the searching gallop of their indie-rock-by-way-of-Achtung Baby sound, as they detonated one ringing, soulful barnburner after another.  Mixing elegiac waves of atmospheric guitarscapes with epic structures and Nathan Gammill’s reaching vocals, Aushua offered a melodic break of sorts between the frenzy that had come before them and the rock ‘n roll chaos that would soon follow, while at the same time galvanizing listeners with their fist-clenched intensity and powerhouse performance.

To quote my review of last year’s New Year’s Eve show:

“And then there was the Henry Clay People.

Look, one can only write “shambolic” and “brilliant” a handful of times, and just so many comparisons to artists as varied as Pavement to Gram Parsons can be made before it becomes a little trite and insulting… just know that everything a rock show should be: dangerous, exciting, emotional, funny, touching, physical, visceral.”

It would be rather easy to just leave it at that, as the above is certainly as true of this year’s show as it was of last year’s.  But there is something about the Henry Clay People as a live experience that continually drives me, as it does most HCP listeners I’ve encountered, to immediately seek out any and all fellow rock nerd friends and proclaim: “You have got to hear this band.”

And, as I always do, after the HCP show last Thursday, I found myself not texting “Happy New Year!” to my friends, but simply, “You gave got to hear this band.”

Here’s why:

After thirty-minute burst of originals, all windmilled guitar and rock ‘n roll heart, in which the band catalogued intelligent slacker ennui with the same singalong abandon and knowing empathy that made The Replacements more than just a good bar-band (and having the good sense to close with the always-perfect “Andy Sings”) the Henry Clay People transformed into Tom Bowie & the Heartbreakers from Mars.  Which, by the way, is exactly what it sounds like.

Narrowing the focus of last year’s monumental covers set (which spanned from everything from The Band to Pulp) to a single tug-of-war between the classic rock-isms of Tom Petty and the genre-skipping art-pop of David Bowie, the band bounced between the two extremes of their sonic influences while featuring a number of guest vocalists.  Hunter Curra of the Flying Tourbillon Orchestra led the band through a fiery take on Petty’s “Listen to Her Heart,” while Eli Chartkoff returned to the stage to turn in a rabid version of Bowie’s “Modern Love” before Harley Cortez of Red Cortez took on a  swinging “Young Americans.”  As the audience cheered and howled, the Henry Clay People led them through a smirking–but still heartfelt–haze of pop nostalgia, infusing each song with an energy and rock muscularity that endless repeats on classic radio had threatened to steal.

But it was when the Henry Clays burned through “Heroes,” Bowie’s most emotionally resonant song (sorry, “Life on Mars?” fans), that the concert found it’s flashpoint–featuring the band’s most emotive performance of the night attached to one of rock’s most powerful songs, they led the crowd in a rousing singalong that heightened and crystalised the feeling of unity and togetherness that the Henry Clay People can generate at every single show.  It was a song that set itself apart as an early front runner for best live moment of 2010, as well as a personal best for the Henry Clay People themselves.

And if you weren’t there on Thursday night to see them, well… you have got to hear this band.

January 4, 2010 | Filed Under Concert Reviews, Exclusive Features 

Comments

2 Responses to “Concert Review: The Henry Clay People, Aushua, Le Switch, The Monolators and Balloon Bass live @ Spaceland (12.31.09/ 1.01.10)”

  1. Eli Monolator on January 7th, 2010 1:41 pm

    Thanks Travis–that means a lot to us, and I’ll take the Nick Cave thing, I love him!

  2. Club Spaceland » Sunday 04.25.10: THE MONOLATORS / ALLA LAS / ANCIENT CRUX / SEAN BONES on April 7th, 2010 12:56 pm

    [...] the Monolators attacked their opening set with a vicious, limb-flailed frenzy, with frontman Eli Chartkoff riding the nimble, marrow-smashing rhythms of bassist Ashley Jex and wife Mary Chartkoff like Nick Cave’s skinny younger brother, all throat-peeling howls and mad-preacher abandon, while guitarist Ray Gurrola sent off one spiky and nerve-tangled riff after another. When the band erupted with the melodic sneer of “Ruby, I’m Changing My Number,” complete with Eli running through the crowd, his wire-tangled mic stand dragging behind him like lashing metal tail, it was a shot of punkish bliss that cemented the Monolators’ status as one of L.A. indie’s most reliably anarchic and underrated acts. – Web In Front [...]




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