November 12, 2008

The B-52s w/ Hercules & Love Affair. Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City.

Text and photos by Tal Rosenberg

Whew. It’s really all you can say after a night like this one, which was stuffed to the ears with such an absurd surfeit of entertainment that there’s really nothing you can do but pass out with giddy exhaustion.

The B-52s didn’t play all of their old tunes, but they did turn out “Mesopotamia” and “Private Idaho” and stuff off their new album and of course “Love Shack” to the sound of hundreds of shrieking, dancing fans. With few breaks in their set, the quirkily retro Georgians proved that they’ve lost little of the energy that characterized their early shows.

That’s to say nothing of Hercules & Love Affair, who took no breaks in a set that covered nearly every track on their outstanding self-titled debut. As they mutated into different tracks, they stretched out the songs to the point that they were almost entirely new creations. And they even covered “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” in a disco reincarnation.

Speaking of disco, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and Pat Mahoney served up some downtown delicacies with a number of opulent Paradise Garage classics. In a night of throwbacks, their soundtrack was all too welcome.

Posted at 9:01am
Permalink
bands | happenings | music