Things you can do in 57 minutes: a load of laundry or take the Q train from Brooklyn to Times Square or stream the first episode of Wayward Pines on Hulu or get a pedicure and a manicure or a moderately-sized black and grey tattoo. You can attempt to find a parking spot on the street in Manhattan on a Sunday or listen to all of Led Zeppelin IV including Stairway to Heaven or play twenty rounds of Coney Island skee-ball. You can patiently wait to see someone at the Apple Store Genuis Bar only to be told that your phone is not covered under the manufacturer’s warranty or you can walk from one end of Central Park to the other (if you don’t stop to admire the shirtless youth trying to revive Ultimate Frisbee as a legitimate pastime). You can do a lot in 57 minutes. For Wolf Alice, a shockingly poignant rock band from London, 57 minutes was all they needed to rock the pants off the crowd at Le Poisson Rouge last week.
Hot off their late night performance on Conan, the foursome took the stage at LPR to a sold-out crowd already chomping at the bit to hear the band’s set of electrified glory rock. Within moments, a sequined-clad Ellie Rowsell launched into vocals that raised the hair on the necks of everyone within earshot. Song after song, the young rockers proved that cleverly delicate lyrics layered overtop driving bass lines and squealing guitar solos can be both intoxicating fun as well as deliver moments of head-banging that would rival the hardest-hitting rock bands on the circuit. The group’s debut album, “My Love is Cool,” is filled with songs that have been culled from the pages of literature and fables and when performed live, they engulf the audience in a swooning cloud of masterful instrumentation and cheeky abandon.
Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice
Fans were urged throughout the set by bassist Theo Ellis to shout along with the choruses and dance with wild abandon, to which the crowd responded with enthusiastic attempts to out-perform the act on stage. Despite the best efforts of LPR’s cooling system, the band raised the temperature inside the venue to a level of heat that was somewhere between a campfire and the burning pits of Hell with their high-octane performances of “You’re a Germ” and “Turn to Dust.” Wolf Alice’s biggest hit, “Moaning Lisa Smile,” was saved for their single-song encore when they pulled a rabid fan on stage and allowed her to sing alongside the band’s front woman while the frenzied crowd cheered their approval.
Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice
Wolf Alice
57 minutes isn’t the length of a typical set for a headlining act in NYC. But sometimes, 57 minutes is the perfect amount of time to absolutely slay what can be a bunch of jaded New Yorkers and convert them into fans for life.
Article: Hannah Soule
