7/23: Suckers @ Pianos

The first time I saw Suckers was some time last year at the Mercury Lounge, opening for some band I can’t remember.  My wife knows them and friends of theirs, and she had been raving about them for some time.  Also, this is the first time I have referred to “my wife” in print.  Suckers impressed me then, partially because they’re simply talented, and partially because they were playing to a half-empty house but still rocking like they were playing Roseland.  They’ve recently gotten some good press, had a song featured on NPR, played Prospect Park and a Diesel store, of all places.   I needed a show last week and saw that they were in the midst of a residency at Pianos, so Mary and I went.  For the short time we were there, they again impressed me with their energy and, as a new addition, their decent light show.

Let the record show that I will never again see a live show at Pianos.  When I saw “Pianos,” I thought “Cake Shop,” and thought it would be okay.  I was disappointed to find that Pianos was the bar that helped ruin Passion Pit for me.  The front of the bar is full of relatively attractive assholes, and if you can sneak by the people that would rather not let you by, you can make it to the back room that will inevitably be bursting at the rafters.  I fully understand the desire to have a packed house at a rock show, but they let about 30 more people back there than they should, to the point that people are filling up the small hallway that leads back out to the bar.  I brought my new camera with the intent of adding photos to this here weblog, but it was too crowded to get it out of my bag, let alone get up to the front so I could get a decent shot and so Mary could say hi to her friends.

Not only is the place crowded, the crowd responsible for the adjective generally sucks.  The girl standing in front of me leaned against me and said to her date, while the band was playing, “I have a funny story….”  Who the fuck offers to tell a funny story while a band is in the middle of a song?  To the date’s credit, he did look mildly annoyed.

"The problem with Pianos is that it's full of people that go to Pianos."

If it was just the crowd, I could honestly deal with it.  I do live in New York and work in midtown, after all.  But the sound is subpar and getting to the bar for a drink is an adventure in itself.  I can say with full confidence that there is little to no reason to go to Pianos ever again.  And it’s a shame too because Suckers is a good band, and Pianos will probably have more good bands.  Just wait for Suckers to play a place like the Bowery Ballroom – which they will – before you check them out – which you should.

Ah, it’s good to be back in the thing of swings.  Next up:  Robbie Fulks & Jenny Scheinman, 7/28 at Barbes.