The Men, Lost Tribe, Hoax Hunters
Thursday, March 8 at Strange Matter
In a tale that has been relayed my way on several occasions, The Men played a show at Strange Matter after the RVA Music Fest last September. A majority of the concertgoers from the festival were a bit too exhausted to make it. It could have been the long day of music endured, or the Okkervil River/Wye Oak show that was happening at the National. It could have even been the amount everyone had to drink. Despite this, The Men destroyed it that evening and proved to the relatively small audience that they are one of the best bands to emerge from Brooklyn in recent memory.
The Men, Lost Tribe, Hoax Hunters
Thursday, March 8 at Strange Matter
In a tale that has been relayed my way on several occasions, The Men played a show at Strange Matter after the RVA Music Fest last September. A majority of the concertgoers from the festival were a bit too exhausted to make it. It could have been the long day of music endured, or the Okkervil River/Wye Oak show that was happening at the National. It could have even been the amount everyone had to drink. Despite this, The Men destroyed it that evening and proved to the relatively small audience that they are one of the best bands to emerge from Brooklyn in recent memory. Now, in another moment of grandeur, The Men were going to drop by Richmond to show off why the lucky few who made it to last year’s show have been continuously raving about them since their last visit. To top it off, they were going to be dropping their new record, Open Your Heart, at the show.
Hoax Hunters were the first to hit the stage. For this occasion, the band consisted simply of singer/guitarist PJ Sykes and drummer Noell Alexander. Bassist Tim Falen was en route to Austin to play with his other band, The Diamond Center. For a lot of bands, this might have come across as a bit of a challenge. For Hoax Hunters, this idea has become almost the norm, due to their ever-evolving lineup in the project’s short existence. Despite Falen’s absence, they still sounded lively and full with a drum and guitar approach. Alexander seemed to fill in any part that would be supplemented with a bass-line by delivering vigorous fills and creating a general intensity. As I made my way in, the group had about two or three songs left. I only caught the tail end of a new song, but it didn’t seem like a big deal to miss out on new material with the reduced line-up. What I did get to catch was an inspired cover of The Blue Rajas’ “Papyrus” in celebration of International Women’s Day. As you should know, the song is a favorite of mine, and it goes to show that its legacy is quickly growing throughout the music community. A fallen microphone stand couldn’t detour Hoax Hunters as they closed out their set with their theme tune. It’s good to see Hoax Hunters shaping into a group that is not only actively setting their sights on future goals, but landing on impressive bills like this and their appearance at JEFF The Brotherhood last month.
Lost Tribe is one of those groups that I hear people rave about, but have failed to catch live up to this point. They may have developed one of the stronger stage aesthetics that I have seen from a local outfit–it feels genuine and resplendent. Flashing lights, rising fog, and demonic antics on stage help to set this group apart. They are also a band that exists within a particular mind frame of musical influences, but develops a unique voice in their display of these thoughts. They may be an amalgam of several past ideas, but nobody is really doing it the way that Lost Tribe pulls it off. The set was short, the sound was slightly off, and the room may have been eager to watch The Men play next, but that didn’t deter Lost Tribe from showing why they are one of the more acclaimed Richmond bands. Nights like this are enough to make me seek out future performances by the group. There is something happening with Lost Tribe that needs to be witnessed and remembered.
As I mentioned before, The Men have been on the tips of everyone’s tongues since their last visit and subsequent third full-length release. All of this praise is well deserved, and it went to show throughout their set this evening. Their energies were focused on their recent release with showings of “Ex-Dreams,” “Open Your Heart,” and “Turn It Around.” The strongest set piece may have been the inclusion of Leave Home’s closer “Night Landing.” Although there are distinct impressions made by each release, it was intriguing to watch the current line-up of The Men take on one of the memorable takes from their second album. It is surprising to see how much The Men both embrace and distance themselves from past sounds. “Open Your Heart” has been both beloved and criticized for it’s direct affinity and likeness to The Buzzcocks. Despite that, there really isn’t a band around these days that is taking those sorts of influences, tossing them on their head and seeing what happens. Even the aesthetic of their records feel reminiscent to the design choices of album covers from the past. It’s classy in its delivery, and appropriate considering that a group like The Men could seem as if they were gently removed from various time periods over the last thirty years.
The Men played on and kept the audience craving more, but the night had to come to an eventual close. All things considered, this was a night of rock expressing itself in many different ways. Hoax Hunters provided a frenzied take on chaos and knew when to present it exuberantly or minimally. Lost Tribe exacted their revenge on the gothic history of yesteryear. As a perfect conclusion, The Men showed that some ideas in rock are still striving within the styles of the past, and how they can be interpreted in modern society.
Words by Shannon Cleary
Images and Video by Janet Lundy
