Titus Andronicus

Words: Daniel Schneier

Titus Andronicus played one of their most high profile gigs to date recently, celebrating the release of their sophomore album The Monitor at the Bowery Ballroom on March 6th. The sold-out show, an ages 16-and-over affair with three warm up bands (The Babies, Cloud Nothings, Parts & Labor), had the feel of hardcore matinee, with swarms of angsty punk-lusting teenagers idling in packs around the venue. Alas, it seemed many of the teenage fans, some accompanied by their supportive parents, car keys in hand, had been shuffled out the door and shuttled back to the suburbs by the time the headliners took the stage just after midnight. By the time Titus Andronicus went on, the crowd had grown decidedly older, the room darker and hotter, as the house lights went down and fans filed into the venue.

At the core, Titus Andronicus is the brainchild of frontman Patrick Stickles, a slight, stern-faced New Jersey native with a taste for English literature, a proclivity for long onstage rants and a massive black beard that summons the image of a guitar-strapped suburban sorcerer. On opener A Pot in Which to Piss, Stickles rips through feedback-heavy guitar solos while keyboard player Dave Robbins cuts through a sheen of reverb and distortion, delivering a bluesy barroom style piano solo as a mosh pit takes shape in front of the stage. READ ON for more of Dan’s review of Titus Andronicus…