Ahhhh, Sleigh Bells. It seems to me, when talking to others about them, either you love them or hate them. My boyfriend loves this band. A lot. So when he told me he bought tickets for his birthday, I knew I was in for a LOUD time. So we came prepared with ear plugs, like the old people we are. Seeing live music in your 30s is so much different for me than it was in my 20s. No longer do I feel the need to bombard the front to get as close to the stage as possible. That now seems to be reserved for high school and college kids that I usually just end up wanting to punch by the end of the night because they have almost spilled my beer and stepped on my feet about 5 times too many. So, I’m perfectly content with standing in the back and enjoying the music there (says your mom and dad).
The opening act was a guy named Sumsun who “played” instrumental electronic music. It just seemed like he was pushing buttons and bopping his head, but hey, what do I know about making electronic music? Not much.
http://youtu.be/hPlmh5SNU5k
I wouldn’t say Sumsun was exactly a match as an opening act for Sleigh Bells genre-wise, but, then again, what band would be? He spun his music for what seemed like an hour, and I think it was, while half the audience seemed to be into it and the other half just wanted it to be over so Sleigh Bells would come on. I didn’t mind his music, it got me all warmed up to dance like a fool later.
And that is exactly what I did during this Sleigh Bells show; danced like a fool with hundreds of others doing the same. Coming out hard and opening up with “Demons” off their newest record Reign Of Terror, guitarist Derek Miller and singer Alexis Krauss made the next hour and a half seem to fly by. They played through song after song, with a second guitarist, like “Crown On The Ground,” “Kids,” “Tell ‘em.” “Rill Rill,” “Comeback Kid” and my personal favorite “Infinity Guitar,” pausing just for a moment to give a shout out to a few fans that seemed to have been following the band and seeing all their Texas shows this time around and every time they have been in Texas. The band seemed really humbled and excited by this.
Alexis Krauss proved to be a Rockstar of a front woman with lots of jumping and dancing, getting the crowds’ hands in the air and always commanding the audience’s attention. She can also crowd surf like no one’s business and keep the song going without sounding like she’s crowd surfing on tons of people. Props to the audience for not dropping her.
Closing out the night with “Riot Rhythm” and “A/B Machines,” I left drenched in sweat, as did everyone else, and wanting more time with them, even though I knew they probably didn’t have any more songs to play.
Sleigh Bells, always a good time.
– Submitted by Mandi LeBlanc, Music Design