Stereogum Home
May 19, 2008

Hercules & Love Affair Played Their First Show @ Studio B, Brooklyn 5/17/08

thumbnail icon: Hercules & Love Affair Played Their First Show @ Studio B, Brooklyn 5/17/08

Photos and video by Abbey Braden

As most anyone in need of a year-defining dance record, we've spent 2008 enmeshed in Andy Butler and DFA's Hercules & Love Affair triumph. Along with the hardest core of H&LA fans, Abbey Braden secured entry and made the trek to Studio B for the project's first US show at 1:30AM Saturday night. Antony wasn't in the building, but the stage was packed anyway with Kim Ann and glam transexual Nomi on lead vocals, a trombone, a trumpet player, two on keys/korgs/mechanics, a live rhythm section, two dancers full on vogue-ing on the amps ("clad in Hercules oversized tees with 'Banjee' across the middle), one Andy Butler tucked behind a wall of keyboards, and one James Murphy smiling wide sidestage. Says Abbey:

They wasted no time getting to business, and Nomi took over the vox for 'Blind' 3 songs in. Frankly homegirl OWNED it, and I think she should take over the 'As a child' duties from now on (hopefully a giant DFA lightning bolt won't strike me for saying that next time I leave my apt). Kim Ann seemed a bit timid at first, but hell it's their premiere live gig, and she warmed up to the beat eventually. People were chanting her name throughout the set.

Lots post jump, including setlist and, live vids of "Blind" and "Hercules Theme Song," and a platter of Braden pics.

"Blind"

"Hercules Theme"

SETLIST
01 "True/False"
02 "Shadows"
03 "Blind"
04 "I'm Telling You"
05 "Athene"
06 "Classique"
07 "Precious Little Diamond"
08 "You Belong"
09 "Raise Me U"
//
10 "Hercules Theme"

No "Iris"! Damn. Jealous anyway. H&LA on tour:

05/23 Brighton, England @ The Parlure Spiegeltent
05/24 Manchester, England # Warehouse
05/25 Bristol, England # Thekla (Dot to Dot Festival)
05/26 Newcastle, England (Evolution Festival)
05/28 Nottingham, England @ Rescue Rooms
05/29 Liverpool, England @ Sound City at Barfly
05/30 Glasgow, Scotland @ Classic Grand
05/31 Leeds, England @ Wax On at Lotherton Hall
06/01 Dublin, Ireland @ Academy
06/03 London, England @ Soho Revue
06/04 London, England @ Soho Revue
06/05 London, England @ Heaven
06/07 Inverness, Scotland # RockNess
06/08 Paris, France # La Cigale
06/20 Barcelona, Spain (Sónar Festival)
06/21 Faro, Portugal @ Open Air
06/24 Arendal, Norway (Hove Festival)
06/25 Stockholm, Sweden (Accelerator Festival)
06/26 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega
06/27 Glastonbury, England (Glastonbury Festival)
06/28 Athens, Greece @ Olympic
07/02 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ 5 Days Off at Paradise
07/05 Knebworth, England @ Knebworth Park
07/06 Werchter, Belgium (Werchter Festival)
07/10 Lisbon, Portugal (Alive Festival)
07/11 Rome, Italy @ Mattatoio Light
07/12 Turin, Italy @ Notte Verde
07/13 Ferrara, Italy @ Piazza Castello
07/18 Berlin, Germany (Melt! Festival)
07/19 East Lulworth, England @ Camp Bestival
08/15 El Ejido, Spain (Ola Festival)
09/06 Isle of Wight, England (Bestival)

Posted at 10:41 AM in , ,
Tags:




-->

17 Comments

Was there. thought the sound was kinda meh. and i love the album.

Posted by: josh at 05/19/08 10:56 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I thought it was great. especially for their first proper show. the "Hercules Theme" encore killed it. Nomi and Kim sounded great. and by the time they come back from Europe, i think they'll be even better.

Posted by: jp at 05/19/08 11:28 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I think I'd do Nomi!!

Posted by: Rodney at 05/19/08 1:03 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Really JP? I think Hercules Them was not really good for finishing the show. It was all right. I bet too when they come back they will be better.

Posted by: Eduardo at 05/19/08 1:29 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

'she's giving me a banjee effect..."

Posted by: ehbenoit at 05/19/08 3:33 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

was wondering if anyone else would get that. gold star for you.

Posted by: KT in reply to ehbenoit's comment at 05/20/08 8:59 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

She is a he, just FYI.

Posted by: Greg at 05/19/08 4:23 PM | Reply
Score = -1 Vote up Vote down

i feel the show was great and agree on them getting stronger through out the european tour. check out there secret show review http://www.intrix.net/nikuya/2008/05/06/hercules-and-love-affair-secret-show/

Posted by: Nick Roseboro at 05/20/08 2:21 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

i feel the show was great and agree on them getting stronger through out the european tour. check out the secret show review http://www.intrix.net/nikuya/2008/05/06/hercules-and-love-affair-secret-show/

Posted by: Nick Roseboro at 05/20/08 2:22 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

i can't believe she is a he

i fail

Posted by: Warren at 05/20/08 11:31 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Rodney, Greg, and Warren. Are you guys seriously living in the 21st century? You've never heard of transexuals before? You probably fancy yourselves pretty hip, so you may as well do a little research and at least learn some nomenclature and hopefully understand how retarded and offensive it is to refer to a transexual woman as "he". Puerile comments here about gender that have nothing to do with the music simply reflect the sorry state of your infantile minds. Get over it and crawl out of whatever mental college fraternity you inhabit.

Posted by: Joseph at 05/22/08 10:55 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Joseph,

Your argument would be a lot more convincing if you refrained from using derogatory terms. "Retarded" is hardly an appropriate way to refer to someone.

Posted by: Jennifer at 05/23/08 2:34 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Joseph,

Your argument would be a lot more convincing if you refrained from using derogatory terms in it. "Retarded" is hardly an appropriate way to refer to someone.

Jennifer

Posted by: Jennifer at 05/23/08 2:36 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Nomi. Is. Beautiful. No. Matter. What.

Posted by: john at 05/26/08 8:38 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

They fact that a man would "tap that ass" knowing Nomi is a transexual is a real man. He knows a hot thing when he sees her. Calling a transexual a he is just plain disrespectful.

Posted by: Rani at 06/18/08 1:10 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

They fact that a man would "tap that ass" knowing someone is a transexual is a real man. He knows a hot thing when he sees her. Calling a transexual a he is just plain disrespectful.

Posted by: Rani at 06/18/08 1:12 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

she is not a he
she was a he
she does it better the a lot of shes.

Posted by: leif at 06/22/08 8:39 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


 

The 'Gum Drop

Get our newsletter. MP3s and giveaways weekly.

Search




Sort by:date relevance

Information

  • Contact:
  • About
  • Press
  • Advertising
  • Stereogum RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon
  • MP3-Only RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon

Staff

Founder/Editor-In-Chief
Scott Lapatine
Executive Editor
Amrit Singh
Senior Writer
Brandon Stosuy
Columnist
Jon McMillan
Technology & Operations
Jim Jazwiecki
Angela Williams

The Cool Kids

All Stereogum Posts


Get Flash to see our mp3 player. Here are our mp3s: Calexico - Two Silver Trees (»)
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Astral Facial (Siren Festival 7-19-08) (»)
Santogold - Starstruck (Diplo Remix) (»)
Conor Oberst - Danny Callahan (»)
Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron and Fred Squire - Flaming Home (»)
Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (»)
Bodies Of Water - Gold, Tan, Peach, And Grey (»)
Babe Terror - Mount Dorothy (»)
Babe Terror - Nasa Goodbye (»)
Crystal Stilts - Crippled Croon (»)
She And Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here (»)

Band to Watch logo

Band To Watch: The Neighbourhood Council

After two weeks of reader-tipped BTWs from Lawrence, Kansas, we mentioned there seemed to be something going on in that city, despite William S. Burroughs up and dying a few years ago. After the proclamation went out, we received notes...

MORE »

Quit Your Day Job logo

Quit Your Day Job: Chromeo

Chromeo's the Montreal/New York electro duo of childhood friends P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel) and Dave I (David Macklovitch). Gemayel handles keyboards/synths and talk box. Maclovitch, the other vocals and guitar. The Deluxe Edition of their 2007 album Fancy Footwork, aka Fancier...

MORE »

Premature Evaluation logo

Premature Evaluation: The Walkmen - You & Me

Before we got to soak-in the woozy organ and raw yelps of "In the New Year," the last taste we had of the Walkmen was that one-off "Lemon Hill." As we mentioned then, the Men said "Lemon" wasn't "exactly in...

MORE »

Video Hangover logo

Video Hangover: The Murmurs - "You Suck"

Every week, we dig in the archives for videos that we find noteworthy, memorable, or just unbelievably stupid. And then, Jon McMillan breaks 'em down for you. Why Video Hangover? Because when you watch as many videos as we do,...

MORE »

Oldstand logo

OldStand: Kerrang!, July 4, 1998

Take our ink-stained hands and join us at the OldStand, where Jon McMillan goes to remind everyone what an honest-to-goodness music magazine is supposed to look like. Okay, I'll admit it: I fell for the cover trick. It's Kerrang!, right?...

MORE »

The Outsiders logo

The Outsiders: Vol. 16: Babe Terror, Crystal Stilts, Factums

Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's virtual...

MORE »

The 'Gum Drop logo

The XYZ Affair - "Evening Life"

The XYZ Affair found their way onto our radar with a slime-filled Nickelodeon-packed "All My Friends" video. The Brooklyn band's new Trials EP includes standout "Evening Life," a song that caught our attention before its video clip was even completed....

MORE »