AXIS|OF|LIVE

So, like… who knew that so many people liked The Sounds? Not me. A few months ago, I saw Carson Daly pushing the hell out of them on his show, and I figured that they were still struggling to get some recognition in the US. I suppose the release of their new album, Dying To Say This To You, has helped them a lot, not to mention the fact that their lead singer took part in that ill-conceived theme song to Snakes On A Plane. (I can just see the light bulbs going off in the prepubescent minds of young men across America as they realise, “Dude, this chick’s hot! Who is she?” and pull up Wikipedia on their Dells.) Apparently the line to get into Webster Hall was around the block, and the crowd consisted of tiny hipsters, club kids, and dudes fresh off the Girls Gone Wild tour bus. The latter group all seemed to know the words to every Shiny Toy Guns song, and that was kind of creepy. And they all absolutely loved The Sounds.

The evening got off to a late start before opening band Liam and Me played, a quartet of wee, cute boys from Philadelphia. Their keyboard-heavy pop-punk sound reminded me a lot of the now defunct Elkland, especially when lead singer Matt O’Dowd (NB: No one in this band is named Liam and I wondered if the band name was a reference to a Gallagher of choice, but I imagine this probably isn’t the case) gestured robotically towards the crowd. Granted, no one will ever beat the dude from Elkland at awkward, robotic dance moves, but Matt made up for it by being basically adorable, dedicating songs to the ladies and such. He won the hearts of all of my friends, that’s for sure. They were clamoring for the merch table after the set was over. I’m not sure if everyone else felt the same; a thrown drumstick was passed around by a few folks because no one wanted it. Poor Liam and Me. For the most part, they were well-received and I’m sure in a few days, they’ll be all I read about in every blog out there. That sort of thing always happens to me. See: Professor Murder.

Next up were Los Angeles band Shiny Toy Guns. According to Wikipedia, there are three versions of their current album, We Are Pilots, since the band was really wary about finding a label they liked. Wikipedia also tells me that the guitarist’s name is Gregori Chad Petree. Somehow, this doesn’t surprise me. I’d heard their single “Le Disko” a while back and found that I liked it, but when I researched their other songs, I wasn’t into them. I wasn’t into it in a live setting, either. They certainly did a fine job, but their music isn’t really my thing. I had thought it would be; I like synths, I like pop, I like heavy guitars. But STG tries so hard to be massive in their sound that it’s really distracting and at times, annoying. Dressed in My Chemical Romance attire and Misfits-inspired hairdos, they stormed through a very loud set with horrific lighting that had us all on the brink of seizures. A lot of people seemed to be present just for them, and they seemed happy. I was mainly amused by the drummer, who wore a lot of facepaint and played like Animal from the Muppets, with huge, sweeping arcs of his arms. He also dumped a bottle of water on his head while wearing headphones, which you probably shouldn’t try at home.

After a very long wait, The Sounds graced us with their Swedish presence. Maybe I’m not used to being mid-floor at Webster Hall, but I’ve never felt the floor shake the way it did during this show. Holy crap. I kept thinking that this was it, the floor was going to cave, we were all going to fall into a pit of despair, and I’d die there. People were losing their shit. The band is made up of four relatively distinguished looking gentlemen, some more attractive than others, depending on your type. But really, there’s no doubt that all eyes were on lead singer Maja Ivarsson, who strutted out onto the stage in a black jacket over a matching black t-shirt and black short-shorts, her bleached hair cropped close to her scalp on one side while flowing long and haphazardly on the other. Ivarsson takes her cues from a few famous leading ladies of past and present, most obviously Debbie Harry, yanking the spotlight away from her band at all times in the way Blondie’s lead singer did so well and so consistently. The long, bare legs remind one of PJ Harvey’s iconic “Lick My Legs” photo while her stark white hair gives her that Gwen Stefani stage queen presence. But while the music is firmly rooted in its pop tendencies, Ivarsson won’t let anyone forget how punk she is, lighting multiple cigarettes, spitting on the stage, and hurling full cups of beer into the crowd, as well as her own body (both the beer and the stagediving occurred during the encore and I was prepared for neither one; my hair was not happy). She also took time to sex up guitarist Felix Rodriguez, who seemed very appreciative. If Ivarsson weren’t so much fun to watch, nor so undeniably gorgeous, the punk posturing would get old, quick. She knows how to work a crowd, however, and had all the girls and boys eating out of her hand. Like Debbie to Blondie and Gwen to No Doubt, The Sounds without Maja would be nothing.

I have a feeling that I had a very reserved “I’m not having fun” look on my face the entire night, but that was mostly due to the fear that I was going to die, as mentioned above. The set was good, and I did enjoy it. There isn’t much to The Sounds’ songs, neither musically nor lyrically, but they don’t pretend to be a very complex band, so it works. They’re just out to have a good time and they obviously did. I suppose I’m surprised that there’s such a huge group of young kids listening to feel-good Swedish pop-rock when I was convinced they were all engrossed in either Bright Eyes or Panic! At The Disco– bands who play songs with such complicated, intense lyrics, that you almost forget there’s supposed to be some unfettered enjoyment for the mere sake of the music. And speaking of Panic! At The Disco… I saw them live a couple of weeks ago (I decided to forego the review, since my only response was sheer bewilderment), and their show had something big in common with this show: an intermission. I really hope that intermissions aren’t the new trend at concerts, because they’re fucking annoying. The Sounds left the stage after five songs and for a moment, I thought they were actually done playing. Then they showed a video on screens that no one could see from the floor area, and Maja and Jesper Anderberg came out to do a piano version of “Night After Night.” This was the only trick in Ivarsson’s bag that didn’t work for me: torch singer. I didn’t buy it, and she looked like she was trying too hard. She should stick to the crotch-grabbing and spitting.

As I said, however, the show was more than decent. The sound at the beginning of their set was awful, with lots of crackling and distortion, but then it was worked out and everything was simply loud. They played lots of songs (if not all) from Dying To Say This To You and their first album, Living in America, which I don’t have, but have now been inspired to acquire. Plus one for The Sounds. My favorite numbers of the night were “Tony the Beat,” “Hit Me!,” “Don’t Want to Hurt You,” and “Living in America.” That all being said, they’re not a band I’d risk breaking my eyeglasses for again, so next time they’re in town, I’ll probably be viewing it from the balcony. My beer-free hair will also thank me.