THE BRAVERY @ Le National

By Abby Elizabeth Schachter - The Reaktor - 07/11/2008

I’ve put off writing this review for what feel’s like centuries, during which time we’ve gotten a new magazine editor, I have my own show, CJLO is on 1690 AM and Barack Obama has been elected president, oh yeah and it’s snowing outside! 

Usually when you see a band perform it’s a thrilling experience, you sway or dance and if you’re really having fun you shed a few tears of happiness. Not in this case, the show was unwatchable and at times painful! The only thing crying in the venue were my ears and I’m pretty sure that’s anatomically incorrect.

In my defense I usually grab any reviews I can get my hands on and had never heard of The Bravery before. I know it’s a gamble but I’ve  gotten to see some really great performances in the past and didn’t think this particular show would be any different…I was very wrong. The venue was nice. The crowd seemed alright, except for that drunken, rhythmically impaired dancing couple who looked too old to move like that (Editor’s Note: there seems to be one of these at EVERY show…ever.)

The Bravery is a band that was formed in good ol’ New York, NY so you’d think they’d be cooler than a typical hipster crew… but you would be wrong. However if the music was good they could have been a drooling forty-something –year old man dressed in a pink dress eating a lollipop for all I care. The band was decked in matching tight black pants, equally tight black dress shirts and elf boots that had pointed toes. They looked like a bunch of tall, evil leprechauns hopping around onstage. The reason I was and still am so unimpressed by these guys is because they seemed so “affected.”  There was absolutely no sincerity, even when they were talking with the crowd, it seemed as though they  were emanating the ‘rock star’ persona. I just wanted the night to be over!

I would list the set of songs played, but unfortunately I couldn’t tell any of the songs apart, every single one sounded the same and I only knew when one ended and another began by the undeserved rounds of applause.

The lead singer… why? WHY??? Why did you prance onstage twisting and turning the mic as though it were an unconscious, GHB affected date? The best part of the night (and by ‘best part’ I mean the worst) is when the bassist decided to make his singing debut. The crowd literally (no exaggeration) stopped swaying to the beat and stood in place, watching this poor guy sing his way to poverty. Maybe these synth-pop one hit wonders were having an off night, but I still left after the fifth song.

This was one concert I wished I had not seen alone because I don’t think anyone can understand my anger. There is so much good music out there…artists that create songs that have meaning and depth…and then there’s The Bravery. These guys need to dissipate, find themselves and graduate high school before they can establish a long-lasting musical career. Oh yeah, and a few music lessons couldn’t hurt either.

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