Albert Hammond Jr // Biltmore Cabaret
The Biltmore cabaret was set to show the acts of Pinky Pinky, garage-rock come-ups from L.A., on tour with the ubiquitous Strokes’ guitarist Albert Hammond Jr, a tour celebrating the release of his latest solo-work project, Francis Trouble.
Not knowing but except the vague sounds to be heard from going to a “rock concert”, and being a diehard early Strokes fan, I am fairly prepared for any sort of guitar-lead acts awaiting m’ears.
Pinky Pinky is a trio playing as I walked in with wicked talent, as I deem any band with a drummer/lead singer combination. Funny enough, the only other drum/singer I have seen played on the very same stage years ago (Whitney).
Noticeable are the roles of each instrument. Pinky Pinky is a band with three lead musicians, with them all sharing an equal part of the sound: bassist with powerful complex lines, drum/singer with the beat n’ super haunting vocals, and guitarist with sharp progressions. I figured this is how a garage-rock Angel Olsen would sound- a wicked preface for a main act sure to please.
And what a spread like hummus on bread, the Albert Hammond Jr band was composed of five fellas including him; three guitarists, one drummer, and good ol’ Albert Hammond Jr singing like he does.
There is a perfor-motive to every show. I am sure Albert knows that Strokes fans will flock to see him no matter what he sounds like. They have come to watch him sing pop indie-rock, with albeit his own original vocal cadence, It is what The Strokes would be without Julian Casablancas, and if there were simply a shuffling of musician hierarchy.
It is not bad music by any means, it is just not wholly original, which is what you’d expect. He isn’t known for his sound, but for the sound he is a part of, that he helped create.
Throughout the show, Albert is interacting with everything. At one point he pulls down the projector screen in a childesque wonder kind of way. He’s chatting away and has good banter in between songs. He is a veteran after all.
If you are a Strokes fan, this was a good concert. If you are an Albert Hammond Jr fan, this was a great concert. Loud, nostalgic and quite a performance. Though personally, I’ll still spin Is This It before Francis Trouble.
Photos: Lukas Holt
Review: Maxwell Babiuk
