Although Ambulance LTD was the headliner at the sold-out Bowery Ballroom show last night, the evening belonged to a trio from Brooklyn named We Are Scientists (WAS). Keith Murray, Chris Cain, and Michael Tapper, collectively known as We Are Scientists, play ridiculously catchy pop songs that are impossible not to dance to. They’ve hit it big in the UK already and last night they showed New York City that they’re about to do the exact same in the States.
The Bowery was packed by the time We Are Scientists ripped into their set and the band only stopped to breathe a few times. During their breaks, bassist Chris Cain took over the stage and turned the venue into a standup comedy club. We all know how bad on-stage “banter” can be and it’s usually painful to hear, but Cain, dressed like an ’80s science teacher with a moustache, glasses and a turtleneck, had the crowd in hysterics.
The girls never stopped swooning over Keith Murray, the guitarist and lead vocalist. Even the 40-year-old soccer mom standing next to me was screaming his name. Murray’s energy on stage makes him an even bigger indie rock heart-throb. He was throwing his guitar around the stage while he flailed back and forth dancing to the bass and drums.
As catchy as the melodies are and as funny as the on-stage banter is, the stage belonged to Michael Tapper. His drumbeats own the songs and without him, the band would not have the ability to make the crowd shake like they do. Everyone would agree that on songs like “Inaction” and “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt,” it’s Tapper who makes the Scientists as infectious as they are.
The set ended with Murray and Cain on top of the drum set singing the last lines of “The Great Escape” a cappella. While the crowd cheered, the woman standing next to me was telling her husband that the band would soon be playing the Madison Square Garden. Perhaps she’s right. But maybe they should headline the Bowery first.
We Are Scientists will release their debut album, With Love And Squalor, in January ‘06 via Virgin Records.
Source: Jeff Thrope
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