No Age Puts On a Timeless Show

By Erin Mae Szrankowski
Collegian Editor
February 13, 2008

No Age hails from Los Angeles, Calif., the Smell scene to be more specific. That is where the genius of this two-piece band originated. Its newest album, Weirdo Rippers, has been getting a lot of attention recently. In a good way, they take nothing seriously over there.

The music is fast, loud, fun and empathetic. This guitar/drums duo has been touring with Liars since the first date of its tour. It was good enough that No Age had decided to still play Philly, even though Liars could not Feb. 9. Earlier in the day, it was announced that Liars cancelled, due to Angus Andrew’s illness, and probably his back too, which he previously hurt a couple of weeks ago. This is Liars’ third time cancelling a show in Philly.

R5 bookers scrambled throughout the day, searching for a venue for the eager No Age to play. Ideas were thrown around and they finally came up with Queen of Sheba. It was a classy idea on the behalf of both Sean Agnew and R5.

Here I sat, of no age at a 21+ show in Queen of Sheba, an Ethiopian restaurant at 45th and Baltimore sts. The night was cold and the walk from 52nd and Market, even colder. Upon entering, I was stunned to find tables and booths fully covered by their tablecloths. On the other side of the restaurant was a bar, with customers hanging around watching the basketball game.

This No Age concert was beginning to feel surreal.

A mini-stage sat in front of the kitchen, looking ready for a karaoke night or singer-songwriter. A turn-table blasted some obscure post-punk vinyl into the restaurant. This has always been an R5 pre-show routine. The ceilings were low and lit by those hanging dinner lights. Walls had pictures of Ethiopian advertisements slapped on the walls. A guy with roses even tried to sell flowers to the No Age concertgoers.

My initial feeling to this experience was as if I was the missing piece in an indie film, a la a far-cooler, less cliché version of Garden State. No, I do not play Natalie Portman in this role, if you are asking.

At 9 p.m. sharp, the band took the mini-stage. The drums were propped up on the stage with the amps and microphones. On the floor laid the guitarists’ set-up, complete with a near-million effect pedals. A discoball hung from the ceiling, shining its weak light among the people and the restaurant.

The first song of the night was “Every Artist Needs a Tragedy.” The song started off slowly with billowing white noise, enough to make one’s ears bleed. Then it slowly built up and the snotty drums came in, causing a thunderous effect. Instant movement waved across the now crowded Queen of Sheba.

These guys worked themselves out, after each song they had to take a breath. I mean playing at a fast pace has its collective costs. But they sure were doing a great job of keeping up their energy.

The bass-drum-heavy “Boy Void” was next to kick out the jams. It was surprising the cops did not show up to give a noise violation citation.

In between their Weirdo Rippers tunes, the band threw a few of its new songs from Nouns, set to be be released sometime in spring 2008. They transitioned to “My Life’s Alright Without You,” which is a fantastic tune to hear live. There is a lot of energy, despite frontman/drummer Dean Spunt’s careless delivery. His vocals mix with the quick-paced drums to make a stark, wild contrast. Playing drums—decently—and yelling makes absence in love a whole lot fonder and more fun.

Another great song played in the mini-concert was “Everybody’s Down.” The guitarist, Randy Randall, walked nonchalantly through the crowd with guitar in hand. He stopped to where a few people were just hanging around. Randall then got down on the floor, instrument and all, for the “Everybody’s down” part of the song. Eventually, he met Spunt at the stage for the biggest jam of the show. It was a great conclusion to the last-moment-Ethiopian-restaurant-punk-show in Philly. These guys have a good thing going for them. Oh, and feel better, Liars.

szrankowskie1@lasalle.edu