Paint the Town Orange

March 7, 2008 - Southpaw - Brooklyn, NY - The Epochs, Hey Hey My My, The Subjects, Luke Rathborne
Review and Images by Dominick Mastrangelo

The week that was for Hey Hey My My must have seemed a bit of a blur. The French band, after opening for Lightspeed Champion on Wednesday, played their first headlining gig at Brooklyn's Southpaw on Friday night; then followed that with an acoustic show at a packed Sound Fix on Saturday. Touring in support of their self-titled debut, with charm in spades, and a glut of recently won fans, one has to believe this is just the first of many U.S. tours for HHMM.

Julien Garnier and Julien Gaulier wasted no time launching into their set with many of the records strongest cuts. "Merryland" (mp3) was a dreamy pop number. A couple songs later Gaulier introduced the bouncy, Rubber Soul-era, breakup number, "Easy", by informing the crowd that they were going to get dumped. "By a girlfriend or a boyfriend...but," he continued, "it's okay, cause we have song for you." Non-album tracks "California Wine" and "Perfect" showcased the bands ability to shed their melancholy sound with a pair of rocking numbers; "Perfect" ended the show with both Juliens and bassist Jeff Dijoud in a pig pile at the middle of the stage as Michel Aubinais banged away on the drums.



Brooklyn's The Epochs opened with their blend of Postal Service meets Bloc Party electronic/indie pop. Fronted by brothers Ryan and Hays Holladay, the four-piece played songs from this year's self-released, self-titled, full-length. The excellent, catchy electro-pop song "Opposite Sides" (mp3) with it's soaring strings and bouncy high/low vocal delivery from the brothers Holladay made it the standout of their set. The groovy "Mouths To Feed" and 70's dance-tinged "Love Complete" presented variations on a theme as blips and clicks and percussion noises inhabit much of The Epochs sound.

Neither band has upcoming shows to promote, but I am sure we will be hearing much more from both this summer.