For a band that already leans rather heavily on the goofy, quirky factor, perhaps a free show by The XYZ Affair at novelty venue, Brooklyn Bowl, was a bad idea from the get go. The staging wing (and I mean ‘wing’- this place is gargantuan) has to function not only a vantage point to the stage but a dance-floor, restaurant and bar spill over area. So, on an appropriately raucous Saturday night, the area in front of the stage was packed, not with engaged music fans but mostly with clusters of people content to half-drink, half-dance as a disinterested DJ spun Basement Jaxx

The XYZ Affair opened with their track, “All My Friends,” introducing a set laden with unabashed pop chords; jerky, over-choreographed dance/strumming on the part of the frontman and an alarming reliance on excessive falsetto. Unfortunately, by the end of the XYZ Affair’s second track, the combined effects of confusing venue and moderately chintzy performace had produced the distinct sensation that watching the XYZ Affair at Brooklyn Bowl is much like watching a well-practiced wedding band.

The dancing groups did regain a bit of their sway during the bouncy, well delivered “The Professional.” Unfortunately lost in this live show were the band’s witty and nuanced lyrics, too many of which were scooped up in Alex Feder’s profound over-use of the now well-trodden pop falsetto “alternative.”

A few obvious associations kept cropping up during the course of the show. In their better moments, the XYZ boys managed a nicely executed Ben Gibbard, Queen or perhaps, Panic! At the Disco. However and rather all too often, this Brooklyn-based band channeled The Darkness, and not in the deliciously, spandex-clad good way.

Filed Under:
Album Review, New York, News