After thoroughly enjoying their latest album, Corsicana Lemonade (to the point where I pushed for it to be L4LM’s #1 album of the year in 2013), I was quite eager to see just how White Denim would translate into the live setting. Fortunately, in a day and age where recorded music is practically valueless and live music reigns supreme, WD did not disappoint.
First off, given the grimey-rock ballads that typify White Denim’s music, it was only too fitting that the performance was at Webster Hall. The band brings a sense of beer-soaked fun-loving, aaaand, well, so does Webster Hall. The 1500-person capacity room is prime for a good party, and White Denim rocked the house.
Now, here’s the thing with White Denim’s music. At the surface, you’ve got these powerful, guitar-riff-driven rock songs, with singer/guitarist James Petralli enthusiastically (yet – sometimes incoherently) belting about relatable subjects. Love, life, enjoyment, dancing, drugs. But then, these songs always take these winding turns into the unpredictable, dropping from your run-of-the-mill rockabilly into a psychedelic odyssey. They keep the instrumentals tight, rigorously composed, and the effect is exhilirating.
They opened the show with a track from their new album, “Pretty Green.” Here’s a video of them playing a version of the song:
They played a majority of Corsicana Lemonade throughout the night, ultimately segueing between old and new material with ease. Though I personally preferred the new songs (considering my obsession with CL as a testament to the band’s maturation over the past seven years), it was nice to hear some of old familiar WD tunes like “Shake, Shake, Shake,” “Drug,” and the great instrumental, “At The Farm.”
All in all, these guys put on a fantastic show. Really electric, thoroughly entertaining. I know I’d definitely see them when they come to town again!
-David Melamed (@DMelamz)