Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever at Music Hall of Williamsburg — 8/6/2022
So, I may be becoming an Aussie rock fan-boy. David P, are you listening?
I went to see Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (Rolling Blackouts C.F. for short) in Williamsburg last night. I had no idea who they were, or where they were from, but placed my bet for the night on the strength of the one song of theirs that I know, “Talking Straight”, a catchy tune that’s gotten some decent airplay over the past few years. Here’s the song:
https://open.spotify.com/track/0pAe3wp6qI0q3BrpQo6nFa?si=S7y37aAUT_-NI_yp6YTnZg
Using my Live Multiplier Effect, I figured they might put on a good enough show to get me to come to Brooklyn. Good call!
These Aussies hadn’t been back to New York in three years, what with Covid and living upside-down on the other end of the planet. They were thrilled to be back, and ever so grateful for their gig in New York and the packed hall of fans. It was a tremendous show, and the young-ish crowd screamed its appreciation. Rolling Blackouts played for a solid 90 minutes, including a terrific encore.
Rolling Blackouts is a 5-piece group, with three guys (Fran Keaney, Tom Russo, and Joe White) who share lead guitar and singing roles. They are ably supported on bass by Tom’s brother Joe Russo and on drums by Marcel Tussie. So, lots of guitars, and straight-ahead rock jamming. No mosh pit here, just a roomful of kids who hopped and danced and swayed to the easy, catchy riffs laid down by these guys.
Here’s a playlist of their best material from last night’s show:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0dFHIg58rFLwUjQw5QW5AJ?si=gxXr6legQUumDdDcaBMxnA
The room wasn’t always packed. At 7:58, two minutes before showtime, I was one of about three humans in the place. I asked the bartender, one of the other humans, “Where is everybody?’ And he said, “We’ll, the show doesn’t start for mother two minutes…”. Oh. I could have marched onstage, sat on the drum kit, and nobody would have been there to notice.
Anyway, at 8:00 on the button, a local band named Dropper took the stage and fired up their weapons. “We’re from around here” said front woman Andrea Scanniello in her intro. Brooklyn, I take it. The five-piece band played a peppy, garage-rock set that sounded great. Their lead guitarist, whose name I can’t find anywhere, blew out some licks that would have made Stevie Ray Vaughn proud.
Here’s a quick sampler of songs from last night’s set:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4cHB3EBFiHw1hPo204SJGf?si=oxdJFa0LRuGubOxi7B4JBw
And, just to show I’m not just making this up, here’s the actual set list I swiped from a guy in the front row:
Next up was Razor Braids, a 4-piece all-girl band, also from Brooklyn. Are you still allowed to say “4-piece” without violating anybody’s sexuality? Just wondering.
Razor Braids has a heavy, deliberate style that’s loaded with emotion and power chords. Their music was accompanied by some psychedelic videos, lots of orange and black. I liked their set. Here’s a sampler of some of their songs:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RBQjMeHzatsqen2cEvHX0?si=ApvLY-tiRxK1VUY0mZzI8g
BTW, as empty as the room was at 7:58, it didn’t take long for an ARMY of photographers to surface, during the warm-up acts and Rolling Blackouts. I’ve seriously never seen so many heavy-duty cameras at a rock show. Not sure how that became a thing last night, but it was.