Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Concert Review)

When I saw Black Rebel Motorcycle Club perform live, it was a spectral Sunday. However, the stars didn't align just for me, but for all of Philadelphia. First, there was the Broad Street Run in the morning. Next, there was the Equality Forum at the Piazza in the afternoon. And finally, there was the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC) rock concert later that night. Add perfect weather to the mix, stir it around with a couple of highly saturated Seven and Sevens, and enjoy both with an amazing-photographer-slash-phenomenal-friend combo, and you've got yourself a life that just doesn't get any better.

If you're lucky enough to be from Philly, you know what the Broad Street Run is. You probably know what the Equality Forum is too. But no matter from where you hail, there's a decent chance you might not have heard of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. If you don't know them, get to know them. If you do know this band, and if you like hard-hitting classic rock with a modern twist, then do yourself a favor and get to a BRMC show.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is an incredible live act. They were so incredible that after the show, when my redunkulously talented photographer Lauren McLean and I exited the Theatre of the Living Arts and found one another outside, we stopped dead in our tracks. We turned our heads, looked at each other, and said in unison, "That was awesome."

A grizzly bearded dude who looked like he could've been a Hells Angels road captain overheard us. He chuckled. Then he said, "It certainly was, ladies. It certainly was."

But what does it actually mean for a rock show to be awesome? How do you know if a rock show is, in fact, awesome? After all, isn't awesomeness subjective?

If you asked me those questions up until that fateful Sunday evening of the BRMC rock concert, I probably would've said something like, "I see your point. Awesomeness is indeed subjective." But following this psyche-shifting Sunday night show, I would now say, "You're wrong. Awesomeness is completely objective. Not only that, I have created a standard against which the awesomeness of a rock show can be measured."

I am now going to share this awesome standard of awesomeness with you.

So if you're ever at a rock show and find yourself wondering whether or not that rock show is awesome, stop. The answer is no.

If, however, you're ever at a rock show and find yourself wondering just how awesome that rock show is, you can ask yourself these ten questions:

1. Is the energy of the show comparable to the energy of the BRMC show as depicted by Lauren McLean's concert photography?

On this entire list, energy is the most important determinant of rock show awesomeness. Since a picture says a thousand words, you can pretty much just ignore everything else in this article and instead look at Queen McLean's concert captures. If you're at a concert where both the musicians and the audience are rocking out as hard as the people in these fantastic photos, you can be almost positive you're at an amazingly awesome rock show.

2. Is the venue packed?

A packed venue isn't necessarily an indication of how good the music is. However, in order for a rock concert to be awesome, the rock concert requires a crowd. Building on the first point, energy is transmutable. Therefore, a mob-like amount of people is needed for a rock show's energy to escalate to the apex of awesomeness. And nothing quite escalates people's energy like getting swept away by the mob mentality of a rockin' crowd.

3. Does the band look not only as if they want to be there, but as if they wouldn't want to be anywhere else?

When someone genuinely loves what they're doing, and they share that thing they love with you, you can't help but be affected by their passion. This is especially true of artists since art is an endeavor that's based on, and brings about, emotion. It was evident at Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's TLA concert, just as it's evident in Queen McLean Media's photos of said concert, that the members of BRMC are nothing if not passionate about their music.

4. Do people in the crowd want to start a mosh pit?

Mosh pits go hand-in-hand with rock shows. But understand, I'm not saying there has to be a mosh pit in order for a rock show to rock. All I'm saying is you know a show rocks if people at the show want to mosh.

It just so happens I am not a mosh-loving lady. That's unfortunate, because directly in front of me at the BRMC concert was an annoying enthusiastic young man who was jumping up and down like a kangaroo on speed. I assume he was trying to start a mosh pit. This assumption is based only on the fact that the meth-infused marsupial kept yelling, "Let's start a mosh pit! Come on, everybody! Yeaaaaah! Mosh pit!" If you've ever been to the TLA on South Street, you know it's not the best venue for moshing. It got to the point where I had to tap the overzealous young 'roo on the rhomboid and say, "Dude, chill it." Though I might fare well in a mosh pit of midgets, four-year-olds, or teddy bears, in a mosh pit of normal-sized adults, I'd get annihilated. I'm not exactly a humongous human. And I didn't really feel like dying that particular Sunday night.

At least not until the show was over. After that, it actually probably would've been pretty cool. Because then I would've died happy.

5. Do people in the audience not want to grant the band members the luxury of a three second water break?

Then there was another guy in the crowd who yelled, "Let's go!" when the band dared to take a three second water break.

No exaggeration. It was literally three seconds after BRMC bandmembers Peter Hayes (vocals, guitar), Robert Levon Been (bass, guitar, vocals), and Leah Shapiro (drums) stopped to get a sip of water ⁠— because I imagine it makes rock stars very thirsty to pump their pulmonaries out and sweat their seats off ⁠— when this rude dude called out his hydration-halting demand.

But, in case you're confused, lack of social grace isn't exactly to blame here. It's more of the band's fault for being instigators. If Black Rebel Motorcycle Club didn't play "Hate the Taste," "Beat the Devil's Tattoo," "Whatever Happened to My Rock and Roll," and "Ain't No Easy Way" all back-to-back, then maybe ruffians of the rabble wouldn't get so rambunctious.

6. Does the audience like the band's slow songs as well as the fast?

I was wondering how receptive the crowd would be to BRMC's chill jams. Much to my sweet surprise, very.

In the middle of the set, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club slowed down the supersonic speed with a coasting acoustic interlude. First, Robert Levon Been swapped out his heavily distorted hollow-bodied bass for an un-amped guitar accoutrement that soon turned into an acoustic accompaniment. He was joined on stage by a Philly producer, who also played guitar and sung. Shortly thereafter, Peter Hayes slid and glid with the graceful stringed glee of a 60s-style folk guitar.

Make no mistake about it, though, BRMC is first and foremost a garage rock band. Their raw and energetic style of rock and roll is what we came for, what we wanted, and what we got.

So it was a testament to the bandmembers' musical ability that the crazed crowd was decidedly delighted with the acoustic contrast. This throttle rocket respite showed off BRMC's nimbleness with nuance, which can easily be lost underneath the sonorous sounds and fist-pumpin' fanfare of a Black Rebel Motorcycle Club concert.

7. Does the audience demand an encore?

This one comes as a no-brainer. If the audience doesn't demand an encore, the show is a serious so-lamer. BRMC treated us to more than one song in their encore, so nyah-nuh-nah-nah, poo poo. Yeah-we-jam-jammed, whoo whoo!

8. Are your ears ringing after the show?

Please, for the love of Buddha, do not aim for ringing ears. Tinnitus is a terrible, terrible objective. You can permanently damage your hearing in just one single night.

My inner left ear went insane for a few hours after the BRMC show ended, even though I never stood especially close to the speakers during the concert. Luckily, my cochlea recovered completely. But I can tell you one thing: I never forgot to bring my ear plugs to a rock show ever again. I don't care how dorky they make me look. I much rather look like a dork than never hear music again. Especially when I look like what I am.

Nonetheless, ringing ears are at least proof you went to a rock-and-roll concert and not an open mic night at the local coffeehouse. (Not that those aren't lovely, too.)

9. Is the band appreciative of their success?

Few things are more disappointing than admiring someone from afar only to see up close that the person has an air that has been flung with dung. It's hard for me to separate the art from the artist, especially when I'm seeing the artist perform live and in the flesh.

So it made me happy to observe the BRMC bandmembers give heartfelt appreciation to those who support their music. Not only did they thank their audience for all of their love and encouragement, they also thanked the behind-the-scenes crew for their technical expertise. (By the way, the lighting to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's concert at the TLA was top-notch. It was like a show within a show.) BRMC's expression of gratitude was endearing and enjoyable.

10. Did the show give you, and everyone else in attendance, a natural high?

The best part about a live music experience is, well, the experience of music. Music can raise the spirit in ways nothing else can. When everyone in an audience is raised up together, the shared experience becomes transcendental. There's a fun feeling of oneness. I love that feeling of funness.

Bonus rock points if the band's live performance gives you a fuzzy buzzy afterglow that lasts for days. Mine certainly did.