Kate Boy in NYC - Le Poisson Rouge
Published
On Friday, I saw Kate Boy live for the second time – last year I saw them at the Brooklyn Venue Knitting Factory.
This year, after the release of their new album, “One”, earlier this month, the band graduated to Manhattan venue Le Poisson Rouge, which is an intimate black-blox theater in Greenwich Village.
The band had dropped down from a 3-member unit to 2 – singer Kate Akhurst was still essentially the face of the band.
Akhurst is a delight to watch perform – she seems to be having the most fun out of anyone in the room, and her natural stage presence combines with her commanding voice to support the electronic sounds that she and her partner Markus Dextegen produce.
At times, she would contribute to playing the electronic drums and other synthesi on the band’s electro-pop tracks, but she’s better off front and center singing. “Self Control” remains my favorite track, but the song “Open Fire” with its galloping beat and easily singable chorus comes in as a close second.
I know it’s 2015, but I can’t help but feel that the “live” experience of watching a band that relies heavily on electronic instruments has its limitations.
The band could have been mime-ing to a CD while punching buttons on the electronic equipment on stage and no one would have been able to tell the difference. Big-name EDM DJ’s rely on special effects/lighting to enhance their shows; for a smaller-scale band like Kate Boy, such effects aren’t yet practical – hence why Akhurst’s ability to connect with the audience is even more critical.
Despite these limitations, the band still put on a solid 50 minute set, at points getting the audience to sing along. I noticed a 50-something year old woman amongst the throngs of New York University students, dancing and singing along.
Obviously, Kate Boy is doing something right, and I look forward to seeing them again the next time they play New York. Hopefully when they leave the stage to an appreciative audience chanting “One more song!”, they’ll treat their audience to an encore, which unfortunately they failed to do.
Key Tracks: “Self Control”; “Midnight Sun”; “Open Fire”
