Photo: Andrew St. Clair

The Static Jacks may write about escaping their home state. But while you can take the band out of New Jersey, you can’t take the New Jersey out of the band. And boy, do they have that Garden State attitude with songs like ‘Parties and Friends (And Bullshit)’ and ‘My Parents Lied’. Their music is best described as the raw energy of a garage band… but with soul. Sure you can compare them to Morrissey or the Strokes… but only because they’re that good. Their anthem of ‘Woah Woah Woah’ was a perfect start to the nights festivities.

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On the surface, The Like – with their mod-type clothing straight out of an Austin Powers flick or any given episode of Laugh In – could be taken for a sexy eye catching gimmick. But don’t let their looks fool you as it perfectly compliments their brand of 60′s girl group meets alt-pop. The Ronettes meet The Bangles. While Lead singer Elizabeth ‘Z’ Berg sings about a cheating boyfriend who is going to regret being untrue in a big way, a sultry Annie Monroe plays the organ and provides groovy background harmonies while Laena Geronimo’s bass is up front and personal. And let’s not forget Tennessee Thomas, who’s not only a kickass drummer, but is also appearing in Scott Pilgrim vs the World (due in theaters August 13th). Seriously, it’s the first time I’ve ever had a crush on an entire band.

Look out for The Like’s second album (which was produced by Mark Ronson) upon it’s release June 15th.

THE LIKE SET LIST

Catch Me
He’s Not Boy
Release Me
Walk of Shame
Narcissus In A Red Dress
Fair Game
Wishing He Was Dead
Square One
In The End
Trouble in Paradise
Don’t Make a Sound
Why When Love?

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Headlining were The Futureheads. Sounding like a post-hardcore Fugazi meets the Killers meets English Beat, the band brought the house down with many a track from their new album, ‘The Chaos’. But the absolute highlight was when, Futureheads lead singer Barry Hyde was replaced by a member of the audience (for one song). Barry, having previously announced to the crowd that he was having issues with his singing voice (issues that almost cancelled the show!) and asked a member of the audience to sing lead vocals for their next song and picked audience member Tiernan Browne out of the crowd and on to the stage to sing their biggest hit, ‘Hounds of Love’! And he turned out to be excellent behind the mic. After the show, as “Barry” Tiernan posed for pics, Barry called their new lead singer “My Hero.”

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THE FUTUREHEADS SETLIST

The Chaos
Decent Days
Heartfelt Song
Meantime
StruckDumb
I Can Do That
First Day
Work
Back to the Sea
Sun Goes Down
Twist
Carnival Kids
Hounds of Love
Jupiter

Last 5 posts by Andrew St. Clair

• Anamanaguchi/Peelander-Z/Starscream @ The Studio at Webster Hall (1/14/2011) - January 19th, 2011
• Braids bring "Textural groove-based aggressive pop" to NYC - November 29th, 2010
• Public Enemy (Central Park Summerstage, NYC, 8/16/10) - August 18th, 2010
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World "Meet the Filmmakers" at SoHo Apple Store - August 10th, 2010
• The Postelles/Xylos (5/16/10, Brooklyn Bowl, NYC) - Concert Review - May 17th, 2010