The Bravery / Ash (Slim's, 29 March 2005)

As the theme goes, this is The Bravery's second chance to win me over. I previously gave this band a horrible review because their Cafe Du Nord show was pure shite. Well, The Bravery impressed me alright . . . and now I'm really into them more than ever.

But before we go to The Bravery, let's discuss things in order:

Ash
Beer Rating: 1 Beer



I've seen them many times before and they deliver the goods each and every time. In the two or three times I've seen them in San Francisco, they always play Slim's. Whether they like it there a lot or this is the perfect sized venue for them, who knows, but like every other time, they were damn good. Tim Wheeler was in top form, wearing stylish clothes, and you know he's been practicing his rock moves in the mirror. They started off with title track off of their semi-new (because it was released in the UK last year, but in the US just a few weeks ago) album Meltdown and everything started to fall in place from there. Tim and Charlotte were constantly doing that sexy girl/boy guitar face-to-guitar face thing that they do so well throughout this song. Tim's Flying V guitar (which he has several of) was just that . . . flying all around. The next song was "A Life Less Ordinary" which was featured in the soundtrack of that same movie and on Nu-Clear Sounds. Another awesome song and they Charlotte and Tim did the same bit.



The overall energy of their set was astounding and they rocked out! They played all the songs I wanted to hear (sans "Goldfinger," "Jack Names the Planets," and "Sometimes"), especially the ones off the new album. The new album is not their greatest release, but they did play the core ones such as "Meltdown," "Detonator," "Clones," and "Orpheus." The great thing about Ash is that they have a pretty sizable discography at their disposal, and they took full advantage of that by playing their classics such as "Kung Fu" and "Girl From Mars" and mixing it in with their semi-new songs such as "Shining Light." They didn't play an encore, but the crowd loved every minute of their set. Tim had a problem with the amp on one of the songs, but that didn't stop Ash from cutting their set short and they just improvised without the crowd even knowing what happened.

Again, another awesome set for Ash. At first I thought they should have headlined, as it was originally slated, but as you will see, The Bravery definitely deserved that billing.

The Bravery
Beer Rating: 0 Beer



I hated these guys when they were at Cafe Du Nord. Not because their music is bad, but because the venue itself didn't suit these guys. The stage was low, the sound was shit, and the 6 foot and over crowd just all decided to go to this show. I'm no short guy, but if you are surrounded by people from The Land of the Tall, then you are in a bit of a bind, aren't you? I've had their new album for a while, and like pretty much all the songs in there. So, instead of leaving after the Ash set, as I originally planned, I decided to stick it out to see if the second time around was worth it.

And boy was it worth it! Now that I'm much closer to the stage and being surrounded by people from The Land of the Not So Tall, I got a closer look at these stylish blokes. Lead singer Sam Endicott looked awesome with his jeans and polo shirt. And that hair! Man! It was like Dagwood turned scenester, it was that awesome! Bass player (and a really thin Dave Coulier look alike) Mike H. was awesome looking with his 60s Biff style hair, 80s Duran Duran like eyeliner, and the tightest Levi's jeans I have ever seen on a man (N.B. I have the same pair but not as tight as this guy's!). The rest of the band, John, Anthony, and Michael (it's like the apostles, isn't it?) were awesome looking, giving their own signature hair styles and outfits a good spin.

Now that they have the look, do they have the ability to perform their songs live? I was skeptical, but as the opening synths to "Unconditional" came on, I knew these guys were for real. Mike and Sam were just all over the place, and Mike can play the bass like a mean M-Fer. Sam seemed really drunk, or just overly dizzy, because he can't walk straight. He would easily flunk a sobriety test if I were to conduct one. The sound was amazing and these guys thoroughly impressed me.



More songs were played, such as "No Brakes," "No Rings On These Fingers," and "Fearless" which are three of my favourite tracks. The crowd went crazy when they played, in the middle of their set, "Honest Mistake" which was amazingly done. I did a subdued dance, because a scenester doesn't want to look like a nut job - because the scenester ethic is to be cool right? (j/k). Throughout the set, Mike H. probably drank 8 beers, almost one per song played. It was crazy how much that guy can drink!



After their main set, they came back and they did a cover of a song which I know but have forgotten because I was so blown away by everything else. During this song, Sam did a pole dance and all the girls in the front touched him up. Not wanting to play second fiddle, Mike H. did the same and all the girls (and some guys I'm sure) were groping his bare torsoe and tight ass. I mean, why wouldn't they especially since those tight ass jeans were . . . well . . . tight on his ass.

A remarkable set and I now take back what I said about them. Although I still think their show was shit at Cafe Du Nord, their second show here in a much larger, higher elevated stage, and better sound system type venue definitely made their hypeness come true.

Beer Rating: 0 Beer.

Photos: Sara Fong