Cut Off Your Hands, what a great band name. My status message on facebook was Cut Off Your Hands at Mercury Lounge tonight. That was enough to get a good number of responses from inquiring friends. The Mercury Lounge is one of my favorite venues in New York. Small, intimate, and hassle free. I dont think Ive ever waited long to get a beer, or for the bathroom. Two key things when youre watching four bands in a night.
The quartet, from Auckland, New Zealand, were the headline act after some great sets by Grandmas Boy, US Royalty, and the So So Glos, from Brooklyn, who were contenders for stealing the show that night. The So So Glos lead singer and bassist, Alex Levine, bore a striking resemblance to Joe Strummer with his sleeveless button down plaid shirt, and the band rocked it out to some good old punk rock music. I honestly felt like I stepped back in time about twenty years. With so much energy on stage, the So So Glos set the bar pretty high for Cut Off Your Hands to follow.
Cut Off Your Hands set rocked the tiny Mercury Lounge, arguably topping the stellar performance before them. The band took the stage to cheering fans, many whos hearts were won from their previous performances during the CMJ festival last year. Nick Johnston, the bands lead singer attributes their musical influence to artists such as The Smiths, The Beatles, and the Phil Spector produced girl bands of the 60s, such as The Ronnettes. You could immediately hear these influences in songs such as "Happy As Can Be," "Oh Girl," "Turn Cold," and "Expectations." But dont think that these guys are low key, happy go lucky pop stars. From the moment they started, Nick Johnston was bouncing around, and the band rocked it as hard as any rock band should. The only downside of the evening was that they ended their set without an encore performance, even though the crowd was asking for more. The band recently got a new guitarist and drummer, and as he exited the stage, I overheard Nick Johnston say that the new guys are still learning the music. Even so, the band was tight, and it was as if they had been playing together for years.
COYH, spent some time late last year in England, working and recording their new album You And I, with former Suede guitarist turned producer Bernard Butler. After playing a whopping ten shows at the SXSW festival this year, they are currently touring around North America, hopefully coming to a city or town near you. Check out the bands new album on Frenchkiss Records, and follow them on their blog.
