The past year has been a busy one for indie-rock veterans The Walkmen. In the wake of their sixth studio release, Lisbon, the quintet has been making their way across the United States, and tonight, that victory lap brings them to Madison's own Barrymore Theatre.
Word on the street is that it's a good time to see these guys live, and a conversation with keyboardist Peter Bauer confirms that. ""There have been a couple times where we've hit our stride in the past, and we're right on the verge of it right now,"" Bauer said.
The Walkmen's older material has been compared to bands like The Strokes and Interpol, and rightfully so. All of these bands are known for their fierce live performances, and The Walkmen is no exception. ""You're there to try to connect with people,"" Bauer said about his band's intense concerts.
Although still tipping their hats to the bombastic choruses of their older music, the band is headed in a sunnier direction with the new material on Lisbon. These new songs add variation to the live set. ""It's a long show and there's only ten songs on the new record, and we don't even play 'em all ... We play different stuff every night,"" Bauer said. This is good news for all those attending the show tonight, as fans can expect to hear plenty of the band's older cuts, a handful off Lisbon, and possibly even some new material. ""We learn how to play [new songs] onstage, and then reevaluate them later,"" Bauer said, referring to the writing process behind the new album. ""It's not reinventing the wheel, the new songs gain a lot of size once you start playing them well.""
Although this year has seen The Walkmen play before massive audiences, such as the one at Lollapalooza in Chicago's Grant Park, they are looking forward to a return to smaller venues. ""We're really excited to be playing our own shows … It's a lot more fun,"" Bauer said. Despite having visited Madison in sub-zero temperatures several times before, Bauer added that he is ""looking forward to Madison.""
""When people come to your shows it's awesome,"" Bauer said. ""It makes you want to be there and makes the driving all worth it."" For a band that has played sold out festivals in both Europe and the United States this year, this writer doubts they'll have any trouble drawing a crowd tonight.
Opening for The Walkmen is Japandroids, a guitar-and-drums duo from Vancouver. Although these garage rockers are fairly new to the scene, they have already made a name for themselves with their critically acclaimed 2008 debut, Post Nothing. Their past live shows have been characterized by sophomoric antics such as playing in front of a fan for theatrical effect. Although Japandroids are only a twosome, their thick distortion, rowdy vocals and crashing cymbals fill the entire sonic space.
