There was plenty of promise, I can tell you this much. When it was announced Broken Bells was coming to Athens – marking the triumphant return of Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse, who not only became Danger Mouse in Athens, but it was at the Georgia Theatre where he met Cee-Lo for the first time) – people hurried to get tickets. Never mind the supergroup also featured James Mercer of the Shins – thoughts of 40 Watt history sprang into many people’s minds.
You never know what you get with these side projects, especially in the live show. Jack White is never as lively with the Raconteurs as he is with the White Stripes, but then again the Raconteurs isn’t all about him. And maybe that’s the way with Broken Bells, with neither James or Danger trying to steal any thunder away from the other. Of course, anyone who has seen the Shins knows James isn’t much of a spotlight hog in the first place.
Sporting an album packed with excellent tracks, Broken Bells came to Athens and played a technically perfect show. The sound was right on, the breaks and flourishes were on cue – it sounded just great. The band played the album through and through, adding a pair of covers (You Really Got a Hold on Me by The Miracles and Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells ) and a song Danger and James wrote with the late Mark Linklous called Insane Lullaby.
It was a tight set – it just wasn’t lively.
Some shows are all about the music, some about the performance, and I understand that. But this show was like watching a pre-recorded in studio performance. Danger Mouse would move from drums, to keys, to guitar – eliciting a cheer from the crowd, but little if anything from the man himself. Mercer chatted briefly if ever between songs – though he did remark about the band’s names all over the backstage rooms of the 40 Watt. American Cheeseburger, an Athens band, brought a chuckle. “Is there really a band called American Cheeseburger? That’s great,” he said.
I got the sense the band still wasn’t as comfortable playing the songs as they would like. Following The High Road, perhaps the band’s best-known song, Mercer gave a look to Danger and he winked back. “That’s the best we ever played that,” Mercer said. “It’s all because of you.” A loud cheer erupted.
The crowd was invested into whatever the band did. And it was a good crowd, no nasty invaders or ill-informed louts – and they loved every minute of the show. But the band was going through the motions. The Morning Benders, the band opening for Broken Bells, played with more fervor and made an effort to connect to the audience. Of course it’s in their best interest to do that while Broken Bells already had the crowd.
Last show I saw at the Watt was The Hold Steady, a little over two weeks ago, and they blew everyone away – so maybe it’s unfair to compare what I saw from Broken Bells to what The Hold Steady did on the very same stage. I saw New Pornographers at the Georgia Theatre two years ago and left with the same feeling I had on this night – a technically perfect show, but where was the live drama?
I was happy to see Broken Bells, I would have been remiss had I not. But I can’t say I’d rush to see them again as much as I love the music they’re making.
