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Long Blondes Crack Sedate NYC Crowd

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“I need you to make a little more effort,” Long Blondes frontwoman Kate Jackson cooed during Someone to Drive You Home‘s “Weekend Without Makeup” at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom Friday night (May 16). And although the song concerns an ineffective lover, she might as well have been singing directly to the motionless crowd.Despite energetic opening sets by Brooklyn’s the Subjects and Cambridge, MA’s Drug Rug, the Long Blondes couldn’t stir the crowd to the frenzy their disco-meets-mod-rock sonic demands.

Perhaps the set list’s heavy reliance on the Blondes’ recently released sophomore effort, Couples, was the reason for the staid atmosphere, as Jackson and crew ran through album cuts “Century” and “I Liked the Boys” with determined power while the audience took on a crossed-arms pose. But the quintet themselves could not be blamed; as Jackson flailed her voice, Screech Louder’s drumming and Emma Chaplin’s fierce backing vocals added extra muscle to their wiry compositions.

All was not lost on the evening, however; when the Blondes broke into early singles “Giddy Stratospheres” and “Autonomy Boy,” a rash of manic dancing broke out amidst the dull crowd. For an encore, the band ran through Someone to Drive You Home‘s opener “Lust in the Movies,” while again inciting a brief craze in the crowd, replete with choral shout-alongs.Disappointingly, the short set’s encore was only one-song long, but the newly buzzing mass didn’t seem to mind leaving freshly energized.

We asked: On their new record, Couples, the Long Blondes offer a song titled “Nostalgia.” At this very moment, what are you most nostalgic for?

Read the fans’ answers >>
More photos from this show >>

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More photos from this show >>

We asked: On their new record, Couples, the Long Blondes offer a song titled “Nostalgia.” At this very moment, what are you most nostalgic for?

Back to the story >>
More photos from this show >>

Read the fans’ answers >>
Back to the story >>


Long Blondes frontwoman Kate Jackson / Photo by Alisa O’Connor


The Long Blondes / Photo by Alisa O’Connor


The Long Blondes / Photo by Alisa O’Connor


The Long Blondes / Photo by Alisa O’Connor