click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Car Seat Headrest at the Beacham
THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND
Car Seat Headrest and Naked Giants, The Beacham, Feb. 22
Matador Records mainstay
Car Seat Headrest has been as much a blossoming as a breakout. What began as a modest solo project of Virginia's Will Toledo has over the course of this decade become a
total juggernaut. In concert, they're now a major affair with mega personnel, production and following.
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Car Seat Headrest at the Beacham
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Car Seat Headrest at the Beacham
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Car Seat Headrest at the Beacham
On stage, they're a
seven-man force that also includes all members of opening band Naked Giants. It's two drummers and guitars galore, bringing a sonic storm that now sits among live giants like
And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. There's no more fitting way to truly render music of such symphonic rush and breathtaking scale. With this army, these songs rocket straight up through the stratosphere and explode with breathless dazzle like New Year's Eve.
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Car Seat Headrest at the Beacham
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Car Seat Headrest at the Beacham
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Car Seat Headrest at the Beacham
Their performance is a headlong tower of melody, joy and climax. In keeping up with the music, the light show could've thrown the whole hall into seizure. Almost no one in indie rock right now shoots the horizon with as much
horsepower and ragged exuberance as Car Seat Headrest. Stunning in gale and immensity, this once lo-fi DIY project could now translate in a stadium.
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Car Seat Headrest at the Beacham
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Naked Giants at the Beacham
Making their Orlando debut were
Naked Giants, a rising young Seattle power trio who weren't fucking around. They pack big-time power and don't do foreplay.
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Naked Giants at the Beacham
Their gutsy but dramatic opening saw each player walk on one-by-one and drop right into full attack mode. First drums, then guitar, and finally bass. As soon as the third man was on, the unit clicked into top gear and was bull-kicking with
maximum swagger. From there on, it was practically pedal flat till the glorious finish line.
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Naked Giants at the Beacham
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Naked Giants at the Beacham
A wrecking ball of garage, punk and unchained rock & roll, Naked Giants are sort of black sheep among the tasteful twang of the New West Records roster. But in these kids, they’ve got a
white-hot meteor.
click to enlarge
-
Jen Cray
-
Naked Giants at the Beacham
Follow Bao on Twitter (@baolehuu)
Email Bao: baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com