There are some bands who seem to get way more attention and adoration than they deserve; there are others who don’t seem to get anything close to what they deserve. New Orleans duo Generationals unquestionably fall into the latter category. Four solid albums in, their giant North American tour tonight takes them to the cozy confines of Bar Le Ritz, and it’s probably not even half full. Touring with Polyvinyl label mates Psychic Twin, on paper its a can’t-miss show, and despite the turnout, it’s a great night all round.
Brooklyn-based duo Psychic Twin are up first, and it’s their second visit in the space of a few months following last November’s visit with STRFKR. Some issues plague frontwoman Erin’s mic a few songs in, but aside from that, it’s another great set. The progression of their live set is really starting to show, as Rosanna, the other half of the duo, hammers away on a drum machine with much more gusto than last time around, especially noticeable on the furious drum outro to Lose Myself. Erin implores the crowd to go “full weird” with her prior to excellent set closer Strangers, killing the stage lights to leave just a single pulsing strobe light to spooky effect. Brilliant stuff.
Generationals then take to the stage and blast right into Turning The Screw amid a backdrop of flashing pink strobes, lighting up Bar Le Ritz in spectacular manner, and the twinkly keys of Gold Silver Diamond keep up the pace. Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer, the duo who make up the band, share vocal duties on Black Lemon over a pounding beat which sounds almost panpipe-esque in places. Say For Certain sounds almost like Vampire Weekend over Lykke Li beats, and Ted and Grant duel both vocals and guitars on the excellent Ten-Twenty-Ten, as rock n roll service is resumed.
The mood gets notably disco for a moment on Avery, as orange strobe lights flash around the stage and a grooving bass line gets the room moving, before returning back to straight-up Rock again on I Never Know as lights drop to a dim red. The classic When They Fight, They Fight elicits a sea of phones to fill the air across the venue as the twee-pop moment that surely introduced many to Generationals way back in 2009 arrives (and, fun fact, was featured in a Bloomingdales holiday commercial). Following the bass-driven Say When, the same sea of phones pops back up in harmony with clapping hands for the epic Put A Light On, before the huge riffs of Nobody Could Change Your Mind wrap up the main set in emphatic manner: it really is the perfect set closer.
Whilst the rest of the band leaves the stage, Ted and Grant elect to stay on through to the encore, and Grant relates how he spent some time in Montreal during a time-out from recording in Washington DC, and loves the place: unsurprisingly the venue roars in approval. The trippy underwater beats of You Got Me follows and sounds fantastic live, before a thumping Spinoza and Trust close out the show for good after a brilliant hour and a quarter. A wonderful show courtesy of a wonderful band.
Setlist
Turning the Screw
Gold Silver Diamond
Black Lemon
Say for Certain
Ten-Twenty-Ten
Yours Forever
Lucky Numbers
Keep It Low
Avery
I Never Know
When They Fight, They Fight
Say When
Put a Light On
Nobody Could Change Your Mind
You Got Me
Spinoza
Trust
Review & photos – Simon Williams
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