Show Reveiw: Britney's Spear at Radio Bean

Last night, I headed to Burlington to see a band from Clark oddly enough. I've been meaning to write about Britney's Spear and their EP for some time now and now I can write about their show. The show started with one of the band's guitarists, Tom Hamill playing his brand of atmospheric, layered solo guitar work. I've seen Tom play a couple of times before, and it seemed to me that he's stepped up his solo performances. He rocked out a lot more and seemed to enjoy what he was playing. If you were to ask me out of hand whether or not I liked that genre of music I would probably say no, but I really enjoy what Tom does. It is alternately soothing and agressive. Sometimes it seems to swirl around you as he builds layer upon layer of effect-laden melodies and other times he loops an aggressive riff and adds intricate lead work over the top of it. He played five or six songs and at the conclusion, those in attendance clapped appreciatively for the calm before the storm as Alan Grunberg and Zach Schnitzer joined him on stage to complete the line-up.

Watching Britney's Spear live, is like watching punk get born again. Sonically it is absolute chaos. I've been describing it to people as Black Flag covering the Stooges, but it's so much more than that. For every minute that is 8-cylinder, loud fast rules hardcore, there's two minutes that nod more towards Hamill's more complex solo work. These guys are deeper than your daddy's punk band and they just keep getting better live. They were a little louder than the crowd at Radio Bean was prepared for and the bartender was handing out ear plugs. By the end of the set, my friend Matt and I were the only ones still in the building but a crowd had gathered on the sidewalk outside watching through the windows. Even with the crowd thin, Britney's Spear would not be denied. They crushed their way through a set which included the songs from their self-titled EP as well as a few new songs. The new songs show more potential than a AAA hitter with 50 home runs, especially their recently written set closer "Face Fuck the Police" which ended with Alan screaming sex talk into a mic, before sticking it into his mouth and writhing around while his guitar screamed feedback.

Its scary to think that Britney's Spear is less than a year old and has already reached this level. The songs are face-melting, the swagger is for real, and self-conscious posturing is non-existent. Never has punk-as-fuck seemed so effortless.

Tom Hamill - If You Were Real

Britney's Spear - Into The Neighborhood

Britney's Spear - Old Wolves Tale

Financial Support Goes Here

I honestly don't know how you can buy the albums other than contacting them through their myspaces here and here.