Two Saturdays ago at Brooklyn Bowl, Patience exclaimed, "We're from Australia, but Brooklyn is our new home town."
Let's hope that means that The Grates will play here more often. Like, a lot more often. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun at a show. Patience's energy was through the roof from the second she flew onto the stage wearing a gold lame cape, sequined leotard, and dragon scale cuffs. I think the only time she rested was when she invited an audience member to the edge of the stage so she could sit on his shoulders as he walked into the middle of the crowd (she gave me a high five!) for the band's performance of "Roc Boys."
By the end of the night, Patience had given me quite a workout and I was only a spectator. I don't know how she sings at the same time she is bouncing around on stage. A few minutes into their set I was sweating but just like Alana Skyring behind the drums, I had a smile on my face the whole time.
Patience (apparently she only goes by one name now) and her crew played all the favorites from Gravity Won't Get You High (except "Sukkafish," boo) and Teeth Lost, Hearts Won. While "Two Kinds of Right" ties with "Milk Eyes" and "Burn Bridges" for my favorite song on their current release, it was definitely my favorite one to listen to live. Also fun to hear was "Like Pain" which strictly follows a loud-quiet-loud formula and for some reason reminded me of Nirvana because I typed "soyundsl$ike teen soirt [sic]" into my blackberry (yes, I am that girl at the show). The Grates played one new song. The song was nothing too original; it sounded very much like the rest of their music (funny enough, the lyrics were "I don't want to ch-ch-change"). This is not something I'm complaining about. I think The Grates are awesome and have a sound that the U.S. mainstream would gobble up if they only knew it existed. Case in point: I brought 5 girlfriends with me to the show, none of whom had listened to a note of The Grates’ stuff. But they were all immediately won over. One even said Patience reminded her of She-Ra from He-Man. If she's not a star, I don't know who is.
The indie lover in me desperately wants The Grates to remain a U.S. secret. But when they blow up (and they will), I'll definitely be that annoying music blogger patting herself on the back for listening to them way before everyone else.
By a lucky coincidence, Savoir Adore was the opening band. As always, they were lovely.
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