April 5, 2014

Perfect Pussy played Death by Audio





After a brief flirt with spring, Friday night in New York was back to the chill, raw, and damp weather that has made this winter hellish. For once, cramming inside Death by Audio didn't seem like a terrible idea and for the album release of Perfect Pussy, it seemed amazing. Taking the stage to Drake's "Started From The Bottom", Meredith Graves and company bounced around as they tuned up and did their best karaoke to the Toronto rapper's big hit. Surrounded by friends, family, and fellow bands from Syracuse, it was a homecoming that had been moved from upstate to Brooklyn. "I'm happy to be here and I hope you are too. This is Say Yes To Love" shouted Graves as the band tore into their raucous set featuring last year's unexpected semi-hit "I" and the entirety of their new record. Thrashing guitars, blown-out feedback, and shrieking fuzz covered the band's sound as Meredith's blasted vocals added more layers into the mix. On record, her lyrics are glossed over and almost unintelligible. Despite their rock-star criticism for the bass/bridge debacle of SXSW 2014, the band's energy was feverishly high and the crowd ate up every second of it. Bodies were flying, people surfing overhead, and not once did the band miss a beat. Heckle them all you want, but these guys know how to bring the mosh. "This album is too short, we only have two songs left" exclaimed Graves shortly before the end, but that only seemed to add fuel to the fire. For the final charge, the fervor of the set never diminished and as Meredith surfed over the crowd to the back of the venue it signaled the end to a powerful night. Saying yes to love sounds like a scary thing to most. However, with the confidence that Perfect Pussy delivered during their set and the joy they seemed to carry doing it, maybe it shouldn't be that scary after all. If 2014 is the year we say yes, Perfect Pussy seem capable to lead the charge and I'll be right there with them.

Setlist:
"I"
"Driver"
"Bells"
"Big Stars"
"Work"
"Interference Fits"
"Dig"
"Advance Upon the Reel"
"VII"

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