PHOTOS: KRISTIN HORGEN | Can you imagine forming a band in high school only to have it be noticed by record labels who not only want to put out your music but slingshot you into the Hype Machine cogs?
It’s hard to believe that the system ever works, but for Smith Westerns, it seems to have had a positive outcome. I’ve seen them three times now, including a performance in their hometown of Chicago at Lollapalooza, and I have to say that their jangly pop has gotten tighter than ever. They took a breather after the massive support behind 2011’s Dye It Blonde and are back with their new album Soft Will. They were joined by one of my new favorites, Wampire, at the Black Cat on Tuesday.
“We have a lot of songs to play tonight. So I hope you like our band ’cause if not…this concert kinda sucks,” explains Cullen Omori near the beginning of the set. Obviously, he still has some of the snark left for which he is known, despite that he and the rest of the band all seem more mature, not only in attitude but also in their development as musicians and performers. Smith Westerns have become masters of the flow of their set.
After playing some new songs and passing the part of the show where they decidedly slow things down, they play Dye It Blonde cut “All Die Young,” and it’s the first point in the night where the whole crowd noticeably moves together. During their next song, “an old one back from when we were a lo-fi band,” Omori explains, the band starts dancing with each other and loosens up a bit. With only a couple of songs left, things keep slowing, and they play “Smile,” and it’s as if the Black Cat turns into the prom everyone always wanted. People sway together and lock lips.
They came back for the encore with two new singles off of their new album Soft Will. They start with “3am Spiritual,” and it sounds as if Smith Westerns are done with their developmental stages. “You don’t look like you use to be/ You don’t look like you did on TV,” Omori sings before piano plinks, and they all sing together, “Oh yeah.” There are little talking guitars all over the place before the song washes out and they start “Varsity.” Synths crash the song to the floor, tom drum smashes turn into beautiful hooks and harmonizations, and Omori has the most meaning in his eyes of the whole night. Smith Westerns have natural talent, and I think they’re finally figuring that out for themselves.
Opener Wampire’s set had also developed quite a bit since I had last seen them open for Foxygen and UMO at Rock and Roll Hotel back in February. I’d say that nearly everything Polyvinyl Records touches takes a turn for the better, and it showed in Wampire’s performance. Rocky Tinder had been decked out to look like some sort of messiah, saying at one point, “This dress I’m wearing is not the most ideal in the sunshine.” This made me laugh but also led me to wonder if they still aren’t totally comfortable in their new skin.
Highlights from Wampire included a faux pot smoke splash from a fog machine during their song “Orchards,” during which they turned their short guitar jams into an excellent reverberated mess. Also, closer “Hearse,” their mainstay single, had been developed into a rip-roaring distortion blast. “We’ve had two shows with Smith Westerns so far, and we really like them,” Rocky said.
If there is one thing that I’ve learned in my years of going to shows, it’s that good bands generally like good bands. It was four years ago that I first saw Smith Westerns during their first time in DC as part of a phenomenal triple bill at 9:30 Club that also included Girls and Los Campesinos! At that show, I purchased one thing from the merch table, and it was Smith Westerns’ self-titled debut album. I haven’t stopped liking them since, and I can’t wait to see whom they bring back to DC next time.
Wampire
