Concert Review: White Lies Makes Brooklyn Happy At Music Hall Of Williamsburg
You ever go to a concert and realize how big an artist is? It is not that you thought they were less, did not like them, or did not know their music. Yet, something about seeing their fans, in action, musters in you an epiphany; they are deeply loved. It has been three years since White Lies hit the road, and thus came to Brooklyn, to which a fellow concertgoer, in her giddiness, marveled to me. She traveled to see a band that, in essence, drives your energy like a road.
White Lies knows how to give a show, or shall I say lead sing Harry McVeigh knows how to give a concert. He approaches the stage and audience like a man aware that he will be loved. Yes, the crowd was filled with fans, but White Lies gave a show that justifies their followers’s love. McVeigh has genius interpersonal skills. He stares out at the crowd pleased that he has enraptured them, and throws smiles upon concertgoers who see him as an emo-savior. Warning: White Lies Is Not A Concert For Those Who Appreciate Quiet. These men might as well pour gasoline onto their instruments, and light them ablaze. Yet, despite his ability to connect with the crowd, McVeigh is a pretty still musician. He stands center, for the most part, and raises his hands the way a man does when he is ready to surrender, but McVeigh and the rest of White Lies do anything but give up.
White Lies’ music is a mash-up between 80’s electronica, hints of 90’s emo-rock, and the timeless, human initiative to absorb life’s goodness while shutting out its bad. You may say that ignoring the bad of life is wrong. Yet, its necessary to focus on the good, which means you do not deny that suffering is real, but you have to discover that so is happiness. White Lies’s lyrics are, in many ways, about the constant struggle to remember that you are, can be, and have been happy. The best part is McVeigh’s vocals have such an intense tone that you feel said struggle. McVeigh’s voice is practically the same live as it is in record, which for those that bought the album is a relief. When you buy a voice you expect to hear it at a concert, to which McVeigh provides the deep voice he is known for. Honestly, this man’s tenor register will make you think he has a wishing well for a throat. His voice burgeons upwards like the wishes people throw down these wells in hopes they come true. Live, he has more of a rasp and is willing to play with his annotations to add ripples to his “well” of a voice. The result is a concert that adds “flesh” to the bones of White Lies newest album “Friends”.
I felt torn between what I enjoyed most about White Lies’ concert, especially when analyzing how it elevated their music. For one, the crowd’s eagerness to give into the 80’s dance aspect of their music highlighted how movable their songs are. You may not expect White Lies’ to be your top choice at starting a dance revolution, but, in concert, they were pretty close. Yet, I have to settle my favor on McVeigh’s thick, mystifying voice. The way it drips over songs’ rhythms like, sweet-aged syrup, helped me to appreciate how artful White Lies’ is in instrumentals and words. Not every band can observe happiness as a virtue without swimming in sadness, as well.Yet, White Lies makes you feel too rich in music to be depressed. For More Information On White Lies Click Here.
