Mean Fiddler
01.02.07
In strict contrast to the mild mannered mobbery of the Bloc Party queue outside of the Astoria, the queue forming adjacently at the Mean Fiddler for Cute Is What We Aim For was considerably younger. You would in fact be forgiven for assuming it was someone’s sweet sixteenth if there wasn’t an army of touts harassing the queue.
Opening the show tonight was the latest Drive Thru Records protégé David Melillo. Well spoken and polite this talented young man caused quite a stir. His short but sweet six-song set brought about more pre-pubescent screaming than was expected by many, but more than that, dancing and fun was seemingly had by all as he and his newly formed band careered their way through a set that was largely new material to most of the audience.
‘Morris County Blues’, the opening track had the audience glued as it led to ‘Wait for it’ followed by the seminal ‘This is 2005′. At this point Dave performed two solo tracks, ‘Sam’s Song’ and ‘Vatican Roulette’ before being joined again on stage by the band for the downright amazing ‘Knights Of the Island Counter’. For those unfamiliar with David Melillo; he’s amazing, even more so considering the fact that he’s only eighteen. God, it makes you feel old.
Following Dave was much-talked about Hit The Lights. This five piece pop-punk outfit from Ohio have been turning heads here ever since New Found Glory brought them over in December and are were recently confirmed for this summers Give It A Name festival. Even with their short thirty minute set, they blew away any shadow of a doubt that they are going to be one to watch in 2007. Playing material mainly from their album “This is a stickup… don’t make it a murder” they opened with ‘Talk Us Down’ which immediately had the crowd eating out of their hands.
‘These Backs Are Made For Stabbing’ followed quickly and ‘The Call Out’ was next, but it wasn’t until the first few notes of ‘Save Your Breath’ that it was apparent exactly how big the following for this band has got over here. Every word was sung intently and it didn’t stop there. The same happened for ‘Speakers Blown’, ‘Until We Get Caught’ and the two closing tracks, the much loved (albeit a little cheesy) ‘Bodybag’ and the pit-inducing power-pop of the mighty ‘309′. Hit The Lights made a lot of friends tonight, and Cute Is What We Aim For (CIWWAF) were really going to have to pull something out of the bag to top their performance.
It has to be noted at this point I suppose, that not only is this the end of the tour, but CIWWAF have also had problems for the last few dates. Lead singer Shaant Hacikyan has been having vocal issues all week and they even had to drop off of a few dates.
Two days prior to the show their confirmation was yet to be received so their being here alone was a good start. Opening with ‘Finger Twist and Split’ it was obvious from the word go that Shaant’s voice wasn’t 100%. Not that he sounded awful. Just… strained. None the less, the crowd lapped up everything they offered; ‘Newport Living’ gartering a reaction unexpectedly loud.
‘Moan’ was well received and ‘Teasing To Please’ was the surprise hit of the night. Even if the band in their entirety weren’t firing on all cylinders, the crowd certainly were, but in truth it was not a true reflection of the bands abilities. They weren’t at their best tonight, and it showed. Closing track ‘The Curse Of Curves’ brought with it a sigh of relief from many. The bands valiant efforts had been upstaged by Hit The Lights; and Cute Is What We Aim For had, and I say this shamelessly, missed their aim. Be it due to illness or not; CIWWAF promised lots and failed to deliver. Better luck next time.
Gary Lancaster