TAS Live Review: We Were Promised Jetpacks At The Knitting Factory, February 8

We Were Promised Jetpacks put on an intense show on Monday night over at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn. The Scottish four-piece, whose new album is called These Four Walls, seemed shy and reserved at first, only concentrating on banging their respective instruments as fast and hard as they could. Once they loosened up and actually started looking into the appreciative crowd, they did seem to enjoy themselves more.

It sounded like almost everyone was singing along with them. Which is a pretty easy thing to do since they often repeat the same lines over and over again. I happily took part in the sing-along too. It's fun to yell "your body was black and blue," the refrain of "It's Thunder and It's Lightning," over and over again. And lines like, "I'm leaving before you're punchin' out my lights," from that track, or "take your hands off my chest" from "Short Bursts" really serve to bust out any pent-up aggression that you might have.

It makes you feel pretty badass too. It did however also makes me want to hide my all my Decemberists albums and start listening to heavier music. I do love The Decemberists, Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes and that type of mellow sound, but that's for a different time. It's for times when you want to drink all of the alcohol in the bottle, wallow or reflect. WWPJ are for drinking beer, smashing those bottles and being belligerent. Both kinds of music are satisfying. You just have to be in the right mood.

I would like to clarify, though, that in no way am I implying that the music of We were Promised Jetpacks is lowbrow or pedestrian. In fact, it's quite the opposite. There are beautiful guitar melodies, interesting drum and bass patterns and often poignant lyricism. The loud, fast pace of their set does lend to a very raucous show though. And that's a good thing.

I left The Knitting Factory feeling like I could fight a gang of thugs. I didn't - this time. The cool air of the night mixed with big, fluffy snowflakes calmed my hot head and left me feeling content as I made my way back home.

(Above photo of We Were Promised Jetpacks' Bowery Ballroom show on February 11 courtesy of Shane Wilson).