The Futureheads Work the Local Warriors Into a Frenzy!
June Caldwell
June 26, 2006
The literal meaning of ‘Beserker’ is “Norse warriors who worked themselves into a frenzy before a battle” which pretty much sums up The Futureheads new album ‘News and Tributes’ and their effect on the crowd at the Fonda Theatre in LA at their show on June 19, not to mention ‘Return of the Beserker’ their most raucous track. Ironically noted for the more full and harmonious direction of tracks like ‘Worry About it Later’ on the new album, The Futureheads still out thrash the nearest Nordic warrior on our block.
The Futureheads, the UK’s hottest import in the US (at least during this fleeting moment) with their brand spanking new release, fittingly got their name from the Oklahoma band, The Flaming Lips. The Lips’ fifth album, titled ‘Hit to Death in the Future Head’ released in 1992, was their only one to come with a parental warning. It's hard to say where The Futureheads draw all their influences from….besides the obvious Gang of Four and XTC… Gregorian monks maybe? …would explain the chanting harmonies and their passion for helping troubled youth. “What are the two words, Ross?” “Get Involved!!” This onstage exchange between Barry Hyde and Ross Millard of the Futureheads is good advice anywhere, and especially good at one of their live performances. If you don't get involved at a Futureheads concert you will soon be left behind. The Futureheads kicked out a rapid-fire succession of their energetic and intense repertoire barely pausing to catch their breath and have a swig of water between songs.
LA was ready for The Futureheads this time around. I waxed nostalgic about the first time I saw them in 2004 scrunched up against a wall at a free Amoeba Records show. They were so shy and eager to perform. They said this was their first live show in the US, how strange the US is with everybody standing between rows of records! I remember not wanting to stand in line for their autographs on their shiny new CD I bought, based upon my mournful prediction that ‘this will be yet one more band that I love that nobody else in the US will catch on to!” Fast forward to now: Two weeks before the current show, Rodney Bingenheimer, the KROQ DJ who has been called the single most influential source for new music in the US called ‘News and Tributes’ the best album he has heard in 2006. So we weren’t exactly alone in the room! Their set was a blazing roller coaster ride heavy on the new album, ‘News and Tributes’ that connected with the crowd immediately even though most in the room hadn’t heard it previously.
1) ‘Yes/No’: They started off their set with ‘Yes/No’, the first track from their new album, ‘News and Tributes’. Out of the box, fuller and more orbed than the sound of their self-titled last album. Most of the crowd was new to this album, but it was Futureheadsesque enough to shoot through the crowd like a shot of adrenilyn. Yes! No! we were singing along! Lyrics we can understand even with the British accent!
2) ‘Area’: Then they played ‘Area’ from their new album. The harmonies and layers seared through the crowd.
3) ‘Cope’: Next was ‘Cope’ from N and T. Brave to start the set with 3 songs from their new album, but a shining success! Looking and sounding more assured than I have ever seen them, confident now of their popularity in the US. In my low attention span manner, I was thinking of the Coachella Festival last year where much of California saw them for the first time. On the big stage, they were surrounded by curious onlookers who had little idea who they were and were wondering why they were even on the main stage. Tonight was a whole different ballpark. So many bands in LA mimic The Futureheads sound now and call themselves a Brit band, it was like ‘whoa! So THIS is the Futureheads! A Brit band who really is from Britain! Cool!’
4) ‘Worry About it Later’, which they blazed right into next is ‘a slow song’ Futureheads style. More spacious sound, more innovative thoughtful beginning, basically gave us time to catch our breath.
5) ‘Meantime’ followed, a hysterical song from the self-titled album admonishing a moron for being too stupid to have a conversation and I don't have the patience to explain more
6) Also from ‘N and T’, next was ‘Burnt’. Now we are getting away from the spiky sound, almost Beach Boys harmonies. The crowd loved it, like we were all waiting for something new for our jaded ears.
7) ‘Favours for Favours’ was next from ‘N and T’. Now getting downright sweet and melodic we are taken on a journey to a kinder gentler Futureheads sound, surrounded with their rich harmonies.
8¬) ‘Hounds of Love’, their biggest all time hit, was next. They didn’t do their signature dividing the audience into two halves to chant along, which didn’t stop us from yelling along and ending up jumping and playing like a pack of hounds in love with the Futureheads. Made me remember note to self: make sound sample of our three dogs howling to do a mash – up with this song.
9) ‘Stupid and Shallow’’ starts in high gear and then accelerates into a way over the speed limit rampage, their song I love most to hum when I have to hold back what I really want to say at work.
10) ‘Beserker’ from N and T was next: The literal meaning of Beserker is ‘Norse warriors who worked themselves into a frenzy before a battle’. Nuf said!
11) ‘Fallout’ followed, from N and T combines classic Futureheads layers, spikes with their new richer harmonies.
12) ‘A to B’ was next, one of their most jagged ditties demonstrates that the shortest distance between two Futureheads songs is another one.
13) ‘Thursday’ from N and T came on next : once again we think they are going to give us a break from the intensity, because they are slowing the intensity down again. Not.
14) ‘Back to the Sea’ was the biggest departure from their signature sound, the most melodic with clear vocals, the most non-Futureheads song, almost seemed added as an afterthought so people could have a chance to go to the loo.
15) ‘Skip to the End’ next: Oh joy! Dancing singing, laugh if you must but I swear there were people skipping! This is an out and out hit single change the world we are here and only if we could describe the shear joy of becoming lost in their harmonies sparkling with the spiky guitars...try to be cynical and mean-spirited but this was what we go to live show after live show for, a few moments like this where the world fades away until we, well… skip to the end.
16) ‘He Knows’ followed featuring Barry, Ross and Jaff pounding the paint off their guitars and
then kinda mellows into a fun rockin' billy sing along.
17) Next up was ‘Man Ray’ the now classic exemplary example of The Futureheads sound” from their self-titled foray is where The Futureheads flame over any other band with discordant hammering on their guitars that should by all rights be cacophony but are so flawless as to take rock to a whole new level.
18) ‘Decent Days and Nights’ a straight update from The Knack’s eighties hit, ‘My Sharona’, but with more clever lyrics, was nonetheless the most popular of The Futureheads’ songs to date.
19) ‘Carnival Kids’ was their last encore: ‘You’re old enough to know better!’ we wailed along at the top of our lungs, and by this time we were jumping up and down sweating in the pit knocking into everyone in sight. Since it happened to be June’s birthday, we were relieved (as June landed squarely on the toes of the poor bloke behind us) that thank God, not yet, we’re not quite old enough to know better!
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