Irish rockers Bell X1 recently made their first stop in the Metro Detroit area to perform in front of a packed house in Ann Arbor's famous Blind Pig. Little more than a dive bar, The Blind Pig has hosted such legendary acts as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and R.E.M. early in their careers. It may not look very pretty, but it's a surprisingly fantastic venue for concerts. The sound carries well in the cramped confines, and the dancefloor is large enough for attendees to get down or rock out, if they so choose.
Bell X1 are one of those bands who are very divisive. Many liken them to other pop-rockers such as Coldplay, and the comparisons to U2 are practically inevitable simply because they hail from the same part of the world. Fans dig their catchy tunes and lead singer Paul Noonan's cleverly written lyrics, chock full of classic one-liners. Detractors hate them for many of the same reasons, arguing the hooks are cheesy and the lyrics aren't nearly as clever as Noonan thinks they are. Most of all, hipsters like those kooky kids over at Pitchfork Media - who only listen to the coolest bands, of course - hate them because one of their songs appeared in the popular television show The O.C. This instantly makes them sellouts, naturally, because no self-respecting band would ever try to promote their own music via a show with millions of viewers.
So I guess you can call me a sellout too, because Bell X1 put on one of the best live shows I've seen this year, living up to the great rock 'n' roll history of the venue.
New Hampshire's Wild Light kicked the evening off, marking the second time this year we'd seen them perform opening duties (the first being for Doves in May). My opinion of the band hasn't changed since my initial impressions - they're a solid quartet who put on another respectable opening set. Playing songs from their debut album Adult Nights, as well as several brand new tracks, Wild Light warmed the crowd up admirably. I was impressed by the quality of the new material especially, which I actually found by and large to be a step up from the songs I'd previously heard.
Shortly after Wild Light finished, Bell X1 began setting up their gear and, armed with his Casio DG20 electronic guitar (not to be confused with an electric guitar), Noonan took his spot at the front of the stage donning a t-shirt depicting Max from Where The Wild Things Are beginning his rumpus.
How fitting.
For a little over an hour, Bell X1 played a brilliant set that incorporated songs from all four of the band's albums to date, though only two of them have seen an official U.S. release (Flock, and most recently, Blue Lights On The Runway). Noonan joked about this fact, inviting the audience to "steal the other two from the internet."
Opening with songs from Runway, "How Your Heart Is Wired" and "The Ribs of a Broken Umbrella", the band set the tone for the evening, stating later on that they wanted to pay homage to all the wonderful rock music that has come from Detroit, prompting an intoxicated audience member to shout out "Motown!", which a puzzled Noonan echoed with raised eyebrows.
The band jumped further back into their catalogue for a performance of "Next To You" off their second record, Music In Mouth, incorporating lyrics from Outkast's hit "Hey Ya", including "Don't want to meet your daddy / Just want you in my Caddy." Not to be outshined, Noonan shows his own lyrical prowess with the song's clever line "I'm not over you, can I get back under?"
The evening's fourth performance was easily its best in my eyes, being my personal favorite song. As we approached the venue, I joked with my brother that they had better play Flock's "My First Born For A Song", but he said he doubted it as it was just a random album track. Much to my delight, they obliged and performed an extended version of the track with Noonan putting on an impressive timables solo near the end.
Noonan addressed the audience briefly to preface that the next song had appeared on the hit television show The O.C., which brought a smattering of cheers in recognition of "Eve, The Apple Of My Eye". The singer then joked "You take your breaks however they come, folks; we're not fussy," in response to the criticisms they've faced for "selling out."
The song many had come to hear came next. "The Great Defector" is the band's biggest hit to date, receiving plenty of radio airplay both in the States and abroad. Ironically, I've always found it to be one of the band's weaker songs, but I must have been in the minority because the rest of the audience spent the duration of the track dancing and loudly singing along with the refrain "I love the colour of it all."
Another pleasant surprise was the rip-roaring performance of "Tongue", another Music In Mouth track co-written by acoustic popster Damien Rice during his tenure with the band. In stark contrast to Rice's solo work, "Tongue" is a ferocious rock song with a driving keyboard hook and half-shouted vocals from Noonan and was another one of highlights of the set.
Moving back to newer material, the band performed "Breastfed" from Blue Lights On The Runway before Noonan again stopped to speak to the crowd, introducing the next song as an Irish disco number, joking that it's what they were best at. An extended performance of "Flame" followed with Noonan once again playing the timbales and the audience dancing and singing along to the chorus "I wanna be near you and blink in your light / And toast marshmallows on a cold, dark night."
They closed out the main set with a performance of another one of Flock's best, "Rocky Took A Lover". This particular track features some of Noonan's best lyrics, including the line "I don't believe in any old Jesus / If there was a God, then why is my ass the perfect height for kicking?" The band dragged out the ending of this song as well, with Noonan prompting the audience to sing along with some "oh-ohs" in the key of the song's chord progression.
The rest of the band left the stage, but Noonan remained joking "Since there's nowhere to go, do you mind if we play a few more?" Naturally, nobody minded and he performed a mostly solo, acoustic cover of "I Fought The Law" (most famously covered by the Bobby Fuller Four, and The Clash).
Eschewing the subdued sounds of the cover, they launched into "White Water Song", one of their fastest, loudest rock tracks, before quietly closing out the night with Runway's "One Stringed Harp" to great applause from the satisfied crowd.
The band seemed genuinely appreciative of the terrific response they received from the audience. Noonan spent much of the show hopping around on stage, losing himself in the music as if he were an audience member himself. Several bandmembers also performed multiple tasks ranging from keyboards, piano, backing vocals, and guitars. Most impressive of all, Noonan's voice didn't sound a single note different live than it does on record.
If it's uncool to like this band, then call me the world's biggest nerd. Perhaps it's only because one reviewer said of the band's second album "[this is] what Radiohead should sound like at this point in their career" that Pitchfork Media berates them, but the rest of us unhipsters know that Bell X1 are superior in most respects to similar pop-rock bands, and this concert reinforced that notion.
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