Concert Review: Cymbals Eat Guitars At Bowery Ballroom
Cymbals Eat Guitars? Cymbals, a percussive instrument, is usually smashed for its sound while the guitar is stringed, i.e. a stringed instrument. The notion is the literal name for the punk/ indie-rock band headlining the last Friday of the year at Bowery. Yet, it is also a symbolic name for the theme of much of their music and the chorus of our lives; when we are not feeling stringed along by life, we are usually trying to smash through it.
Life can often feel like a power play, and as seen with my UNI review, control seems to be the epicenter of individual’s issues with life. We cannot stop telling life what we want from it, and cannot stop feeling surprised when it completely ignores us. Thus, when we smash through our days, do we spark gusto or end up spilling our guts? Moreover, is having our lives be strung along, so bad? These thoughts coursed my mind as lead singer Joseph D’Agostino wailed through tracks like, “Have A Heart”, “Warning”, “Finally”, and “Rifle Eyesight”. There is a brokenness to Joseph’s voice and demeanor that transforms his rocker presence into everything punk is: shattered. No matter how loud, vengeful, or wrathful this genre/ his voice may appear, even to more conservative outsiders quick to fear it, punk rock is based on the fear its followers/ leaders carry. Thus, Joseph’s capacity to vocally embody the pain, confusion, and eagerness to grab life rather than be grabbed by it, enraptured the crowd. It was an odd moment to have, particularly when saying goodbye to 2017.
It has been a crazy year in this world, and it is not without a note of kismet that my final shows of the year encapsulate one year’s struggles for acceptance and control to prepare for another. Cymbals Eat Guitars is a vivacious concert, ironically, because their music is all about confronting life, and there is something enlivening to that face-off while also wisdom-inducing. As each member shook the notes out of their instruments like happy children shaking a bottle for its last drop of chocolate milk, Cymbals Eat Guitar provided a cathartic show that cleared the way for, hopefully, a calmer 2018. For More Information on Cymbals Eat Guitars Click Here.
