Pendulum Wraps Up First US Tour at Bowery Ballroom
Pendulum
Bowery Ballroom, 10.26.08
"It's been a long day, long week, long month, long year, but we don't give a fuck!" shouted Ben "The Verse" Mount, frontman of Australian band Pendulum.
Yes, it has been a long week. In fact, the past week of CMJ hysteria destroyed me. I find it hard to stand, and I'm suffering temporary hearing loss in my right ear, which in turn puts my whole body off balance.
My first attempt for recovery came on Sunday with a long lazy day of laying around watching bad TV (Degrassi) and bad movies on TV (Mod Squad). Unable to go cold turkey from concerts, I once again found myself in front of a live band. This time it was at Bowery Ballroom and the band was Australian drum and bass/rock act Pendulum.
No idea what to expect, a few drinks were quickly poured down my throat. Pendulum had just sold out Webster Hall the night before as part of CMJ, and Sunday night was to be the final show of their first ever American tour.
Already playing huge venues in Europe and other parts of the world, Pendulum has only begun to make a splash in the US, but that was hardly noticeable at the Bowery Ballroom, where fans packed the house and danced passionately through the entire beat-driven set.
After being used to indie shows where fans stand still with arms crossed, it was refreshing to see people acting openly passionate about music. And why is it that indie kids hardly dance at all? Are we just that depressed and self-aware that we can't dance?
Supporting their new album, In Silico, Pendulum's sound is a combination of influences of bands like Prodigy and stadium rock. They even use the same lighting guy as Prodigy. Motivated for big things, their shows are energetic and exciting to watch, and after a recent tour with industrial rock legends Nine Inch Nails, they are spending time with right type of bands to learn how to make their shows bigger and better.
