RACCOON FIGHTER BRINGS THE ENERGY TO PIANOS

If you’re in the swanky neighborhood of the Lower East Side, maybe around Stanton and Ludlow, stumbling into Pianos is hardly a bad choice.  Friday evening, Raccoon Fighter graced the stage and brought a serious amount of energy in tow.  With the recent release of their new EP, Spiral Flag, these guys played a mix of old and new tracks for us to rock out to.

They opened with “15 Minutes,” from Spiral Flag, which exhibited riff-heavy guitar parts as well as a somewhat old school “sweat, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” vibe.  The lack of clarity in the overall sound was most definitely purposeful, and because of that, it was really cool.  The bass was extremely tight and groovy, and the song was a fun and upbeat way to break in the audience and show us what we were in for throughout the set.  Excitement was high when they played the EP’s single “I’m So Proud,” which was tight from the get go.  The energy was focused and the song grooved in the best of ways.  The drums shined on this song, accompanying the almost bluesy guitar riff.  This was one of the strongest songs from the set.

Also from Spiral Flag, they played “Mr. Cool,” “Hot Wire,” and “Glass Eye.”  “Mr. Cool” brought the set to a different place, as it was definitely one of the more chilled out tracks.  The bass player stole the show in the breakdown, as you could really sit into the groove.  “Hot Wire” was rather funky, which was a nice deviation from the fast paced, gritty rock vibe.  This was the strongest vocal performance on both singers.  We even got a little falsetto in this song, which I loved.  “Glass Eye” gave us a taste of solid vocal harmonies in the chorus.  I was impressed at some of those higher notes, as well as the use of the electric guitar pedals.  They were masters of manipulating the sound emitted from the amplifiers, and I enjoyed watching them work with the pedals that way.

They played a few tracks from their 2013 release, Zil, such as “My Ticket” and “Wolf At Your Window,” which both exhibited their hard rock influences as well as a few exciting guitar solos.  I appreciate their style and the way they really stuck to it the whole show.  There is consistency, as well as definite growth, in their song writing from album to album.  These guys are a lovely throwback to that loud, raw rock ‘n’ roll sound, infused with drugs and that sweet party mentality.  Raccoon Fighter was a lot of fun to watch, and they truly energized the entire room throughout their whole set.

 

Article: Alex Feigin

 

Be first to comment