August 2, 2010 – New York City, New York
The Black Lips, Natural Child, The K Holes
Written by Joshua Koopersmith:
The Black Lips are known for their crazy shows and wacky stage antics, so I didn’t know what to expect when I saw them on a Cruise around New York City.
Before I get into the performance itself, and my experience on the boat, I’d like to talk about the venue (Rocks Off: The Temptress). While enjoying the music on the boat you can look out and see the beautiful view of the New York City night skyline. You can also step outside on the multiple balconies of the boat to enjoy the view of the city. For those who wish to drink on the cruise, the boat provides plenty of alcohol. It seemed as though almost everyone on the boat that night did partake in drinking. In terms of size, the boat is a little on the small side for holding a music concert, but it’s big enough. They don’t oversell the tickets, so unless you want to be right in front of the band there is plenty of space to lounge and enjoy the music, away from the stage. Since the boat was built with two floors, there was no stage for the band to perform on, so the band instead played on the first floor of the boat, on the same ground as the crowd.
I got onto the boat and eagerly waited for the Black Lips to come on “stage”. In the past, Black Lips shows have consisted of vomiting on stage, band members kissing, nudity, fireworks, chickens, flaming guitars and more. I was hoping the show would be just as crazy as I’d heard, or even wilder.
The first band that went on was called the K Holes. I hadn’t heard anything about them before that night, so I didn’t know what to expect. After playing a few songs, they made me want the Black Lips to come on even more. They sounded terrible. The female lead singer appeared to be completely intoxicated and was rolling all over the place. As far as I know, ‘K Hole’ is a drug reference, so they definitely lived up to their title if that’s the case.
The next band that went on was called Natural Child. I also hadn’t heard of them before that night. The boys from Nashville put on a very good set. I would recommend checking them out.
Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for finally came! The Black Lips came out onto the floor. Band member Cole Alexander (Guitar, Vocals) had on a very eccentric outfit, including a long-haired wig, circle shaped glasses, yellow tights, and a colorful shirt that was reminiscent of a gypsy.
The chaos began immediately when the Black Lips played the first note of the opening track to the set “Sea of Blasphemy”. The whole crowd went insane with the band. People began moshing into each other, and into the band. Since the boat has no stage, the line between the people and stage was crossed immediately. Microphones were getting knocked over, instruments were getting pushed around by fans, and Cole’s guitar kept getting unplugged. For the most part the band seemed to be enjoying the chaos. Cole by the end of the set was screaming out to the crowd “KEEP KEWL!!!” He was urging people to calm down a little. That never happened. It is amazing that no one fell off the boat, literally! At several moments I actually found myself holding the microphone so the band members could sing into them. It’s incredible how the music still managed to sound amazing even though all that was going on. They finally ended the set with the track ‘Bad Kids’. Everyone sang along in the sea of chaos. The performance and my experience well surpassed my expectations.
Setlist:
1. Sea of Blasphemy
2. Drugs
3. Make It
4. Short Fuse
5. Oh Katrina
6. Stranger
7. Not A Problem
8. Ain’t No Deal
9. Buried Alive
10. Dirty Hands
11. Cold Hands
12. Ghetto Cross
13. Too Much in Love
14. Bad Kids
0 Comments
You can be the first one to leave a comment.