Honey’s Dead…Honey…

Violens headlined the night with their quirky upbeat set drawing on influences as varied as 1960s pop, 1990s shoegaze and contemporary indie.

After kicking off with the frenetic Acid Reign, the band briefly mellowed for a couple of tunes before launching into the catchy, thunderous Lightning Lightning, which reminds me of Mew and shows off Kris King’s brilliant drumming. This was followed by the psychedelia tinged Violent Sensation Descends.  During Doomed bassist Ben Brantley displayed some dance moves that were every bit as groovy as the song’s bass line. Lead vocalist/guitarist Jorge Elbrecht and keyboardist/vocalist Iddo Arad wove brilliant harmonies throughout the 45 minute set.

Though there wasn’t much banter between songs, near the end Ben said, “It’s good to be home” (the band recently supported MGMT on an UK tour).  We’re glad to have them back.

Openers Zaza kicked off the night of Brooklyn bands at Mercury Lounge with a set of blissful tunes full of lush guitars and synthesizers with melodic bass lines. Aside from early shoegaze influences, Zaza’s sound calls to mind some of the early 1990s American indie (Red House Painters) and the so-called second wave of shoegaze (largely American bands such as Colfax Abbey).

Part of the stage set-up was an ethereal backdrop well suited to the band’s sound, which featured a beautifully designed cut-out screen along with flowers and lighting done by an installation artist named Lauren. In addition to band members Danny on vocals and guitars and Jennifer on bass, the 3-piece outfit was rounded out with Kurt (of The Pains of Being Pure At Heart) on drums.

Songs included “Sooner or Later” and “Arms Length”, both from the EP Cameo, which is currently only available on the band’s website, www.zazasound.com. This was the last scheduled show of the year for Zaza, but they will be back in January supporting The Raveonettes.

Up next on the bill was Brooklyn’s pride and glory, Picture Picture, stated with sarcasm AND deference. The first time I saw them was during CMJ at the Cakeshop. A boy band duo prancing on a stage to pre-recorded tracks. Dance moves from the guy on the right were so good (his moves actually popped) I couldn’t help but wonder if he was really in a failed boyband, or just gay. I thought it must’ve been a mistake. What sadistic person at CMJ would put them on with bands like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart? They were horrible!

Last night’s show was the same…only it was genius! I realized as they started up, that it was all a joke. This parody, deliberate and subtle, was meant to laugh in the face of the Top 40 machine. I may be wrong, but that was my impression. As they danced and did the arm movements of Jack in the Box’s Meaty Boys, someone in the crowd shouted “You blow!” the response from the band was “I knew that was going to be said.” It doesn’t really add up until you visit their myspace and see that they’ve actually posted up bad reviews of their shows on their blog. I guess any news is good news.

Following in the vain of various parody acts like Weird Al, The Darkness, and Welsh rap group Goldie Lookin Chain, the guys of Picture Picture may seem ridiculous, but if you listen closely to some of their tracks, they are actually down right infectious…in a good way. IV Day starts off very Strawberry Fields-esque, then churns out horrid boy band versus, then finds it’s way into a chorus so catchy I found myself bobbing my head and tapping my feet. WTF just happened here?!

Whether or not Picture Picture is actually a joke or genuine, it doesn’t matter. They have just become my latest guilty pleasure.

Final openers right before Violens took the set was Telepathe, minus one member.

To help support their showcase in the audience were members of Ponytail.

by Tessan and I Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll