Turin Brakes - New York Bowery Ballroom - 20/6/03
5/5
By: Joshua K
Set-List: 'Blue Hour', 'Stone Thrown', 'State of Things', 'Feeling Oblivion', 'Self Help', 'Slack', 'The Door', 'Pain Killer', 'Rain City', 'Future Boy', 'Mind Over Money', 'Underdog', ENCORE #1, 'Long Distance', 'Emergency 72', ENCORE #2, 'The Road', 'Balham To Brooklyn'.
It's always the quiet ones who get you in the end.
Such is the case with Turin Brakes. After all, who would've expected these unassuming, acoustic strummers to pen a rousing anthem to blow-jobs (the wittily-emblazoned 'Pain Killer') and release it as a single? And equally amazing, who woulda thunk that America would grasp onto the boys' sensitive stylings to the point that they're selling out 800-capacity venues, creeping onstage to rapturous applause and leaving to even more thunderous ovations...?
Well, they did. And they did. And thank God for that.
Rockfeedback had the pleasure of witnessing the closing night of Olly and Gale's debut U.S. tour... delayed from the spring after the US government ridiculously fretted that Gale's Iranian background made him a potential terrorist. It was a series of shows in which TB's core members were joined only by talented 'Ether Song' LP keyboardist Dave Palmer - and, as the set-list suggests, it was a slightly special occasion, offering highlights from both of the duo's albums to date, plus a gift rarity during the unplanned second encore.
With the performance-quality at a uniformly superb level, it's nigh-on arduous to single out any one highlight. But, among the standouts, certainly fell glorious renditions of 'Ether...' singles 'Pain Killer' and 'Long Distance', a note-perfect run through 'Feeling Oblivion', and a soulful outing of 'Underdog' to end the main set. Furthermore, 'The Optimist LP' track 'Slack' was a joyous surprise, enhanced by rollicking piano rolls that lent a revival quality to the proceedings, whilst a closing 'Balham to Brooklyn' (a b-side from 2000's 'State Of Things' EP), saw the New York City crowd eagerly embrace as its own.
Every now and again, there's a gig that makes even the least musically-inclined among us want to become a songwriter. The closing night of Turin Brakes' first-ever US tour was one of those.
Artists in this article: Turin Brakes
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