I'm sure there were nerves, butterflies, what have you; considering
this is their first show, American Television has every right to feel some trepidation
even if they are playing to a sparsely attended DC9 tonight. However, their age
and professionalism leads me to believe this isn't their first rodeo. The crowd
work and asides are casual and self effacing, something that usually comes with
years of practice. They start off quick with Better Living Through Chemistry, a solid pop punk piece that has all the traits of a well
written genre song; thumping bass, emphasized vocals (not quite screaming but
certainly not singing) and an old fashioned break down. The set feels like a
throwback of sorts. Even though the style is quite different, I would compare
tonight with The Ocean Blue show from last year; steeped in the past. There is definitely
an early to mid-nineties skate video vibe. That’s not necessarily a bad thing,
especially when American Television does it so well. I wonder if the Fat
Records compilation LPs are still around. Many car rides were spent scanning
through volume 4, Fat Music for Fat
People, (No Use For A Name, Lagwagon, Mellincolin) and American Television
would fit nicely among those artists.
That said, this music is definitely, rather feels as if it
is for a younger crowd, however, to be honest I am not quite sure what younger
folks listen to now, so who knows. Decades ago, American Television would have
been in resting in my 3-disc Aiwa CD player decade always at ready; in case I
needed to amp myself up before some nefarious teenager activities. There are
definitely hints of nostalgia here and I wouldn't be surprised if the majority
of this sparse crowd isn't feeling something quite similar. The only thing
missing from tonight's performance are the pandering sing-a-longs, the soaring
choruses that always have a healthy dose of ooh; though there may have been a little
of that at the end there, alright there was definitely a lot of that going on
at the end. Though it's not my thing, I can see some young, enthusiastic,
suburban teenagers getting into it. I think tonight's audience may be a little
to jaded for that.
If anything, American Television can rest easy that their
brand of throwback punk sent me home early. Not because the music was awful far
from it. As I said earlier, while it may not be groundbreaking, American Television can write a catchy, loud, piece. On my way to the show last evening, I neglected to prepare accordingly.
After thirty minutes of pounding, my headache got the best of me and decided to
skate on the remainder of the show. American Television sent this old guy retreating
home to a bottle of ibuprofen.
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