The Klaxons @ Studio B, Brooklyn, NY April 13th, 2007

MTV Urge Nights sponsored The Klaxons at Studio B last Friday night. I haven't seen a crowd this ready to party since the closing shows at CBGB. The show was sold out and the club was at capacity.


The crowd started pogoing and dancing from the minute the band hit the stage up until the last song. With that many people moving, the temperature rose quickly and that jacket (in the above picture) didn't last long.


As I have heard The Klaxons' music described as "new rave" so I was expecting their live show to sound something like the Happy Monday's. This wasn't the case at all. Below is part of an interview that Urge did with singer/keyboardist James Righton:

URGE: What does the phrase "new rave" mean to you?

Righton: Jaime [Reynolds] invented the term for the band, just as a joke. Then NME got ahold of it, and what the NME says suddenly becomes gospel. So it spread. It's a misrepresentation of the music and misleading in a lot of ways.

URGE: So you're saying you don't take 10 ecstasy pills a day and wear a Dr. Seuss hat to bed?

Righton: No, no. [Laughs.] It's not happening. It's funny, because as soon as it got talked about, we tried to distance ourselves from it. I don't think any band likes a tag, let alone one that conjures up images that we probably don't adhere to.

URGE: What are the differences between the first generation of rave and what you're doing?

Righton: The differences are musical: We don't use electronics, we don't use 303s, we don't use any of that. We're a live band, an organic band, and that allows for human failures and elements. We don't go onstage dressed in neon out of our minds, either. Not every night.





If The Klaxons truely believe the world will end in 2012, they obviously aim to have some fun over the next five years. The new album's final song, "Four Horsemen Of 2012," references the final year of the Mayan Calendar, when some, including Klaxons (Reynolds, Righton and guitarist Simon Taylor-Davis), believe the world will end. But reveling in our worldly demise is cause for a party, according to Righton: "Celebrating that we all are going to die is great! Every gig, we give out the address to Simon's house, that's where the barbeque is going to happen on New Year's Eve 2012."

URGE: Do you really believe that the world is going to end in 2012?

Righton: Of course we do. We're going to design T-shirts that say "12 12 12." Then watches that say "countdown to apocalypse." They're not going to tell the time, just the countdown. You're all invited to Simon's barbeque, as well.

Klaxons Play Studio B in Brooklyn Friday April 13th

I was surprised to see there are still tickets available for the Klaxon's show next Friday at Studio B. The band is playing Bowery Ballroom this Tuesday and tickets for this show sold out fairly quickly. The band also drew a strong crowd as headliners on the just completed NME tour in the UK so I wouldn't count on getting tickets day-of-show for this one.

For anyone not familiar with the Klaxons' music, Wikipedia notes that "HMV describes Klaxons as "acid-rave sci-fi punk-funk", while their MySpace page touts 'Psychedelic / Progressive / Pop'. Though the band's sound is decidedly art rock, they draw upon some less common influences (notably the rave culture of the 1990s, which they appropriate and redefine in a post-modern fashion). This is perhaps most evident in their cover of novelty rave hit "The Bouncer" by Kicks Like a Mule and 'Not Over Yet' by Grace." The Klaxons were recently named the Best New Band at Shockwaves NME Awards and just released their full-length debut Myths of the Near Future on Polydor Records. The new CD and the band's live show have been getting great reviews and many of the band's UK show in May are already sold out.

The show at Studio B is part of MTV Urge Nights and should be a fun night. Bonde Do Role from Brazil and Surkin from France are also on the bill. Tickets are only $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Advance tickets are available at Other Music (in the East Village) and at www.igetrvng.com.

Links:
Klaxons Main Website (link)
Klaxons MySpace Page (link)
Studio B, Brooklyn (link)