A Place to Bury Strangers

Photo credit: Elise Thompson

If anyone asks if you want to go see A Place to Bury Strangers, the correct answer is YES. They are from Brooklyn but I saw them last night at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. Someone somewhere called them the loudest band in New York. That label seems to be sticking and while they weren't exactly quiet, they didn't make my ears bleed at all. I'd describe them oh damn with a side of heck yeah.

Despite the fact that the venue lost power four or five times during the show, the guys in the band were terribly good-natured and funny about it right up until the end when they may have lost it a bit. Even then, five minutes after the show was over they were outside smiling. Somehow I didn't think it detracted from the show, on the contrary I like it when people rally. When the drummer gets out from behind his kit to share his bottle with the audience. And the crowd claps until they're back up.

The only guy who took it like a chump was the one I couldn't figure out. Was he a guitar tech in a bike helmet or a local crazy? Grabbing the mic stand from the side of stage and moving it or, even better, twirling it in front of the monitor. Yelling about how the art museum can't get their shit together. Dude. They are the loudest band in New York. And people are having fun. You are wearing a bike helmet with rearview mirrors in a dark room.