inTuneMusic

With a full bill that also included Anthony Green and Envy On The Coast, the only band I needed to see this evening was Recover, performing their first New York show since disbanding in 2005, shortly after the release of This May Be the Year I Disappear.

I arrived to the Photo Finish Records’s CMJ showcase in time to see Fighting with Wire, a very nice treat from across the pond. A punk-influenced Irish three-piece, the band creates a surprisingly lush sound that embraces dynamic sonic landscapes, moving from abrasive to melodic with just the change of a chord–comparisons to At the Drive-in aren’t too far off. I had never heard of the band going into the evening, but I am extremely glad to have caught their set and am looking forward to purchasing Man Vs Monster, their full-length debut, released earlier in the year.

Virginia’s The Friday Night Boys, took the stage next. Polar opposite to the innovative and genuinely interesting music of the previous act, the pop-rock quartet was a breathing trainwreck. It’s hard to imagine how the band managed to share a stage with such talented artists as Anthony Green, Envy on the Coast, Recover, and Fighting with Wire–that is until you also examine the bill to learn that 3OH3! somehow managed to sneak on as well.

Luckily, Recover followed fairly quickly, setting things right with “Bad Timing”, the first of three songs played this evening from their 2002 Ceci N’Est Pas Recover EP. Although the first few rows of the crowd were packed with high school girls undoubtedly ready to shriek for Anthony Green (or perhaps even Envy on the Coast’s Ryan Hunter, who has attracted quite the young fan-base lately), not too far from the stage a fairly large group of Recover loyals held things together, getting the crowd involved. The brief set:

Recover frontman Dan Keyes.

Bad Timing
Night Of The Creeps
Push Push
Holes
Crashed
LA
Fuck Me For Free
My Only Cure

Recover sounded as tight as ever, and it was great to hear songs like “My Only Cure” live again. “Fuck Me For Free” seemed to get the girls in the audience quite excited and eventually there was not only push-moshing but Top 40 grinding going on, as well; interesting, to say the least. “Push Push” translates live especially well, and though the band didn’t reach back to their Fueled by Ramen debut, Rodeo and Picasso, they managed to mix in b-sides such as Challenger’s “Holes”.

I’m sure the performances of Envy on the Coast and Anthony Green were worthwhile, but the abundance of bands on the bill pushed things too late for me to stay. Sitting through 3OH3! wasn’t something I was excited for, either, and so unfortunately I missed the two main acts. Recover will likely return to New York on a proper tour, and if this evening’s performance is any indication then the reunion tour should not be missed.