The Walkmen Get Bloody At Music Hall of Williamsburg
The Walkmen continued to build their reputation as one of the best live rock bands alive, on Friday night. Playing the new Music Hall of Williamsburg, the NYC-based band pleased a full house with gutsy performance. The band performed a large amount of new songs, while singer Hamilton Leithauser battled through with a bloody left hand. Early in the set, it was obvious that there was something wrong with Hams hand, and his repeated trips off the stage verified that. Finally the suited-vocalist, asked the crowd Have you ever cut yourself, and then it just wont stop bleeding? Fans in the front offered a band-aid, and the show went on. With his injury to his hand, Leithauser could not play his guitar to the best of his ability, which seemed to make him dig even deeper than usual with his vocal performance. No better example of this was during No Christmas While Im Talking, during which Leithauser leisurely walked to the mic and proceeded to knock the crowd out with window-shattering vocal power. His voice isnt angelic like a Jeff Buckley, but Hamilton Leithauser knows how to use it, and with the volume seemingly intentionally set a little low, he has to really push his voice an extra length. The payoff is one thrilling performance after another, but you cant help but wonder if Leithauser will one day exhaust his resource just as his idol Harry Nilsson did all those years ago. The new songs The Walkmen played fit alongside perfectly with their older work, and felt as though they were a logical progression from both of their 2007 releases A Hundred Miles Off, and their recreation of Nilssons Pussy Cats.
Photo courtesy of [Jonny-Leather]