Let Me Show You My Fatal Flaw
On the fourth of five consecutive nights playing in the hot, small Shea Stadium BK space in East Williamsburg, the great NYC band Titus Andronicus celebrated the release of its new 3LP rock opera out on Merge.
A black curtain was lifted a little after 9 PM on Monday night. The place was packed tight. T-A front man Patrick Stickles stood alone on stage and launched into lengthy dialogue. It’s a wonderful part of the T-A show. When Stickles speaks his preamble off the cuff, it’s often colorful, interesting, motivational views of the world from the punk perspective. He spoke about what the attendee might expect forthcoming from the band. He expresses hope that patrons can respect one another when attendees do what they do when the music gets fierce and rapid. It really sets a great tone for the evening. He really grabs everyone’s attention.
Stickles revealed that this night would be his last as a 29-year-old which made it extra exciting. The band entered stage right and away we went for more than two and a half hours of greatness. Opening with familiar favorites Fear and Loathing & A More Perfect Union, the crowd went bonkers and sang along loudly. Unintended leaks and additional approved advanced releases of the new material made it such that even the new songs were familiar to the audience, some of whom were there for all or some of the previous three nights at Shea.
Fatal Flaw off the new release was the night’s highlight. Later, we got In a Big City and Hot Deuce (the latter is a personal fave). The band was in exceptional form given the challenge of playing so much new material coming off a layoff – not to mention the varied setlists during what you’d have to say is a historic five-night sold-out run at a true-blue DIY venue. It seems like guitarist Adam Reich has taken on a more prominent role with several more assertive lead parts and a greater proclivity to prowl toward the audience with the head of his guitar thrust high and outward.
At one point, drummer Eric Harm had to step away for a few minutes. In what appeared to be an unscripted moment, former T-A drummer Ian Dykstra came on in relief and had a hilarious give and take with Stickles before launching into an old number of Dykstra’s choosing.
The most well-known new song “Dimed Out” came late in the evening which sent the crowd into a sweaty frenzy. I thought it moved at a pace a little too quick to relish. No complaints though about any aspect of the evening. The encore consisted of three covers. Take It Easy/Hurts So Good/Closing Time. I could be totally wrong on this but it appeared Reich was aggravated by the trio of selections to end the gig. On Take It Easy, he turned away from the band and didn’t really participate in the sound-making. Stickles made a direct remark to Reich during that song which I believe was a plea to get involved. Later, just before Closing Time, Stickles acknowledged that there had been a “loss of interest” in the encore. Not so from the fans’ standpoint but perhaps Reich?
Admission bought in advance via Brown Paper was only $11.34 with service fee. Twelve-ounce cans of Bud were just three bucks. Shea flip-flopped the positions of the makeshift bar and merch area which seemed to gobble up more than the usual amount of space in the back of the room.
Stickles is in pretty amazing physical and vocal shape given how active he is on stage with all of his limbs. He’s doing a solid two and a half hours and more on five straight nights in a sweatbox. He’s belting – sometimes yelling pretty much the whole way.
Nobody here is doing what he’s doing in terms of giving so much to a scene right now. His intense exploration of dark, difficult life challenges is expressed so specifically, you worry if he’s ok away from the job. But then you go to the show and hear him speak to the audience – both conversationally – and in song – and you feel better that perhaps he derives satisfaction from interactions that he manages to make very personal. And inspirational. I hope he feels it back somehow in some of the same ways we’re feeling it from him on this end.