The Frames - Live Show - 10/15/05 at the TLA in Philadelphia
A Review by zach
Date - 2005-10-18 00:00:00
about a month ago a friend of mine (whose taste in music i respect, even if i don't always agree with
it) brought my roomates and i a burned CD by a band called The Frames. He said to us "they are playing
in a month at the TLA, you guys should come see them with me." the album he gave us that day is the one
shown above, and i have to say, its not very impressive. its pretty generic rock music with a modern
take on classic principals. if this were a record review i'd give it about a 6.8/10....but this isn't a
record review, its a concert review.
having listened to the record a few times over the following month, and found only one song that really
stuck with me, i wasn't expecting much other than a good crowd, some beers and a good time with my
friends....pretty much a normal night out except the background music would be a little more consistant
than it is at the places we usually hang out. after the band came on stage the tiny theatre was still
only about half full. at this my doubts grew, but the reaction of the fans that were there when they
started playing should have clued me in that i was in for a surprise.
their performance was astounding.
the lead singer is intense without being intimidating. he was light-hearted and engaging between each
song without sacraficing any of the emotion or intent necessary to pull off his clearly intensely
personal songs. the songs themselves consisted of a lot of older material i had never heard before, in
addition to a couple tracks from the album my friend had given us. in structure they were a lot like
older coldplay songs in that they swayed back and forth between calm, reserved, and deliberate, to
driving and passionate several times over the course of each. the instrumentation was simple (two
guitars, violin, bass, drums) but very carefully layered to build an overall structure in which each
part is integral without being focal.
the highlight of the primary set was a song i don't even know the name of, but has a refrain that goes
like this: "i want my life to make more sense." that's it, over and over, timed rhythmically so that the
emphasis falls on a different word each time its said. its so deceptively simple that it seems almost
childish, but the performance of it was mesmerising. everyone in the audience knew the lyrics, and after
the lead singer had done his own words their fair share of captivating justice the band dropped out
entirely, and all that was left was the singer and us chanting the refrain over and over. he conducted
us through several rounds of fluctuating intesity before the band tore back into the song with the
singer screaming above us all "i want my life to make more sense."
this is clearly a band that loves to perform, and does so with vigor. they could easily fill an
amplitheatre with their presence and their sound, but even to a tiny room that was only half full they
still played to the back wall and beyond. there wasn't a single lull throughout the course of the entire
show. between each of the two encores there was barely a pause before the band came back sweaty and
tired but grinning from ear to ear and clearly chomping at the bit to play for us some more.
this is the kind of commitment and devotion that is missing in a lot of live shows i see. you see a band
that plays a stadium or a big theatre three times a week and half the time its like their on auto-pilot.
just going through the motions. but then you see a band like The Frames who play five or six shows a
week without half of the creature comforts afforded bigger bands and still play their hearts out to half
a crowd at a little club where the people in the bar won't even shut up to listen to the music. that is
inspirational. that is what live music is supposed to be like.
if The Frames manage to maintain the kind of live show i saw last week, and find a way to translate it
to their studio albums, i guarantee they will get huge. and i cannot recommend enough catching them
before that happens.
since this was the kind of show that changed my idea of what a live show should be i'm giving it a:
10/10
click on the album cover above and see them as soon as you can.
it) brought my roomates and i a burned CD by a band called The Frames. He said to us "they are playing
in a month at the TLA, you guys should come see them with me." the album he gave us that day is the one
shown above, and i have to say, its not very impressive. its pretty generic rock music with a modern
take on classic principals. if this were a record review i'd give it about a 6.8/10....but this isn't a
record review, its a concert review.
having listened to the record a few times over the following month, and found only one song that really
stuck with me, i wasn't expecting much other than a good crowd, some beers and a good time with my
friends....pretty much a normal night out except the background music would be a little more consistant
than it is at the places we usually hang out. after the band came on stage the tiny theatre was still
only about half full. at this my doubts grew, but the reaction of the fans that were there when they
started playing should have clued me in that i was in for a surprise.
their performance was astounding.
the lead singer is intense without being intimidating. he was light-hearted and engaging between each
song without sacraficing any of the emotion or intent necessary to pull off his clearly intensely
personal songs. the songs themselves consisted of a lot of older material i had never heard before, in
addition to a couple tracks from the album my friend had given us. in structure they were a lot like
older coldplay songs in that they swayed back and forth between calm, reserved, and deliberate, to
driving and passionate several times over the course of each. the instrumentation was simple (two
guitars, violin, bass, drums) but very carefully layered to build an overall structure in which each
part is integral without being focal.
the highlight of the primary set was a song i don't even know the name of, but has a refrain that goes
like this: "i want my life to make more sense." that's it, over and over, timed rhythmically so that the
emphasis falls on a different word each time its said. its so deceptively simple that it seems almost
childish, but the performance of it was mesmerising. everyone in the audience knew the lyrics, and after
the lead singer had done his own words their fair share of captivating justice the band dropped out
entirely, and all that was left was the singer and us chanting the refrain over and over. he conducted
us through several rounds of fluctuating intesity before the band tore back into the song with the
singer screaming above us all "i want my life to make more sense."
this is clearly a band that loves to perform, and does so with vigor. they could easily fill an
amplitheatre with their presence and their sound, but even to a tiny room that was only half full they
still played to the back wall and beyond. there wasn't a single lull throughout the course of the entire
show. between each of the two encores there was barely a pause before the band came back sweaty and
tired but grinning from ear to ear and clearly chomping at the bit to play for us some more.
this is the kind of commitment and devotion that is missing in a lot of live shows i see. you see a band
that plays a stadium or a big theatre three times a week and half the time its like their on auto-pilot.
just going through the motions. but then you see a band like The Frames who play five or six shows a
week without half of the creature comforts afforded bigger bands and still play their hearts out to half
a crowd at a little club where the people in the bar won't even shut up to listen to the music. that is
inspirational. that is what live music is supposed to be like.
if The Frames manage to maintain the kind of live show i saw last week, and find a way to translate it
to their studio albums, i guarantee they will get huge. and i cannot recommend enough catching them
before that happens.
since this was the kind of show that changed my idea of what a live show should be i'm giving it a:
10/10
click on the album cover above and see them as soon as you can.