Posted by kluster on April 4, 2011
How much slack should you cut a band for the behaviour of its audience?
Its hard to know if Brooklyn’s Crystal Stilts lack of stage presence can be blamed on the beer - thrown by a rowdy French lass - that lead singer Brad Hargett was forced to wear, or not. He swayed and droned on track after track with an expression that read nonchalant at best or, “I‘d rather be anywhere but here” at worst.
The set was a tight mix of Joy Division meets The Doors, with a healthy dose of The Jesus and Mary Chain. Shoe gazey synths and distorted garage rock seemed to be just what the crowd had poured in for and a few bounced happily along here and there. The highlight was an impromptu on-stage dance performance by an inebriated friend of the aforementioned French girl. Keyboardist Kyle Forester did his best to have her removed after she spilt her beer in his equipment.
There’s no question Crystal Stilts make fun post punk pop music you want to dance along to, it was just a shame they didn’t look they were enjoying it at all.
Check out the rest of the photos from the night (+ more) on the Kluster gallery.
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crystal stilts, cargo, london, beer, brad hargett