Live, Times New Viking, Whelan’s
Posted on September 23, 2009 by Adam Lacey
Times New Viking are a damned good-looking band but on a cold September night, within pissing distance of a freezing winter, even their indie
-licious appearance cannot help fill a half-empty room.
Having played here a few times already – the first of which was in Andrew’s Lane Theatre to a small intoxicated crowd (well, maybe the whole crowd weren’t intoxicated…) and the second having been with Los Campesinos and No Age on the Irish leg of the Shred Yr Face tour – it would be fair to assume they could by now attract a good-sized crowd.
Unfortunately, a Saturday night – where across the road gaggles of mini-skirted damsels and shirt-sporting dudes throng into Flannerys – does not seem to be the night for a lo-fi Whelan’s banger. Support band Lovvers (boasting a boozy, couldn’t-give-a-fuck Shaun Hencher prowling about the stage swigging from a beer bottle) do manage to give it some socks, however. They rattle through a set highly indebted to the ramshackle punk of America in the 80s and seem to be gone almost as soon as they begin their SST flavours.
Before hitting the stage, the Times New Viking trio are peppered around the floor for Lovvers’ set, looking broody and fidgety. Their new album, while not as blisteringly immediate as last year’s lo-fi genre-redefining gem Rip It Off, is a progression. Their music has evolved slightly to become a blend of the sound they are known for (noise, shit production, melody), with a bit of Magik Markers and even hints of Sonic Youth at times.
They’re certainly a tighter prospect live these days, if the term ‘tight’ can be applied to this kind of gorgeous din, with new tracks such as Martin Luther King Day, City On Drugs and title track off the new album, Born Again Revisited, sounding analogous to, but distinct from, tonight’s Rip It Off favourites, including Faces On Fire and My Head, the latter of which I am more familiar with than any of their songs by now.
Despite the rock ‘n’ roll cliché of liberal swigging from a bottle of bourbon on stage, and concerted efforts to bring a bit more animation to the night by standing up to drum at various points, Adam, along with Beth and Jared, is battling against a very quiet floor. Those present are rocking for the most part…but there are just too few to create an atmosphere. The set is short and sweet but when they finish up with End of All Things, it’s clear there will be no encore.
Times New Viking are a great band with a killer sound and an idea of how to advance that sound carefully to avoid stagnation, and I will always go to see them live when possible. It’s just a damn shame that their third gig in Dublin drew such a surprisingly small crowd.
Next time you see a poster for ‘em, make sure you’re there. You won’t regret it.
Filed under: featured, live, photosTags: gigs, lo-fi, noise, punk, times new viking, whelan's
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I’d say Lovvers were a bit of a draw in themselves, I was almost tempted to go just to see them. But yeah there were a lot of shows on that night and the indie scene is so small and eclectic that people who’d be into TNV would probably wanna see Rubberbandits or Not Squares or The Jimmy Cake…Times New Viking’s fanbase here has probably seen them play the other two gigs. I think they’re enough to listen to on CD, I’m not fussed enough to go and pay to see them live.