The first in a series of projected “industry” parties went down the other night in the Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel in NYC. The cruise ship façade of the hotel rises above the impressive concert space, which was once a basketball court for hotel guests. It has since been renovated into a gorgeous Asian styled lounge with two bars and a kick ass sound system; hopefully various artists will find this room suitable for future performances. Hiro Ballroom is a keeper.
The party was titled “Recall Lab” and was described as such:
‘Presenting a wide array of music within one space, the night will feature live acts as well as DJ sets and bring together hardcore music fans and the media industry in a diverse and innovative music space. Top professionals from advertising agencies, record labels, print, broadcast and online media will be invited to the VIP networking lounge with special DJ performances and giveaways. “Recall Lab” aims to become the major New York party for the media industry.’
The promoters certainly succeeded in bringing together a variety of people. Suit’s and ties pounded Gin and Tonic’s next to Fashion Week leftovers and club kiddies in mesh hats. There was a whole lot of chatter and not that much focus on the music being presented. Then again, the music didn’t really warrant all that much attention.
The opener Beat Radio played an hour plus set to light response. A watered down Weezer vibe seemed to permeate their Maroon 5 style. Songs seemingly built to an apex only to fall short of the cataclysmic release that was hinted at. Musical blue balls. When their long set ended some technical troubles plagued a DJ who was trying to keep the party moving by spinning reggae and dancehall. After a bit, Grand National took the stage.
Coming to the states to tour behind their acclaimed Kicking the National Habit album, Grand National’s set was billed as a rare acoustic outing for the group. Instead it looked like some band members hadn’t made the Trans Atlantic journey yet, as only three Grand National-ites took the stage, and only 1 had an acoustic guitar. Flanked by two electric axe’s lead singer, Ruppert Lyddon moseyed through a short 5 song set. Doing his best Sting imitation he started strumming and singing then dropped a Roxanne stanza on the crowd. Three tunes later, after tossing in their most known song, “Drink to Moving On,” Grand National played an extended cover of "Walking on the Moon," just in case you missed the blinding influence.
With this pseudo-Police cover set over before it began, Lyddon assured us that this wasn’t the real thing and the full band will be back in NYC at the Bowery Ballroom on March 11th. The Hiro Ballroom tune up gave very little to critique, positive or negative. The band seemed to have a decent stage presence and the tracks on their debut album are played in a punchy Franz Ferdinand style that should translate live, but I guess we will have to wait for another show to find out for sure.
For more info see: grand-national.net
