Although the 7th Street Entry was exciting on Friday night, I was anxious to get into First Avenue’s mainroom for my second show of the night. I saw the line throughout the night and was a bit surprised how it never seemed to shorten. Even when I had wrapped up my experience at the more intimate club that is technically downstairs from the mainroom, there was still a line for the mainroom. I may have known nothing about who was playing up there but I was clearly in the minority for that. I jumped in line, waited my turn, and quickly found myself in a very excited sold-out audience.
The vibe in the mainroom was completely different than what I had just left at The Entry but that made sense. This was a completely different kind of show. The audience was older and the room was definitely more full. I fought my way through a lengthy merch line to get to my spot where I could get all set up and ready for the night and found myself just taking it all in. As mentioned, I knew nothing about the two acts I was about to see but there was a sense of anticipation in the air that could not be ignored and I could not help but get lost in.
First up for this second show of my Friday night was Jerkcurb. I couldn’t find much about this man online but that just adds to the mystery surrounding him that had me hooked. A one man act, Jerkclub had a sound that left me lost for words. I’ll be honest, it was a bit calmer than I had wanted for that moment. His vibe was a little ambient with a bit of an Americana influence behind it and layers upon layers of beauty. Jerkclub sang, played guitar, and messed around with a keyboard in front of him. I honestly couldn’t figure out how he was producing so much sound being just one person but I loved that about his set.
I found Jerkclub’s music to be a bit slow and, well, boring, at face value but, as I let myself fall into his world, I realized just how complicated and beautiful it was. All of those layers he was creating on stage came together to give the large venue a whole atmospheric vibe. A lot of the audience was clearly just waiting for the headliner to take the stage but, at the same time, a lot of them had stopped their conversations and, like me, had clearly just gotten lost in the work that is Jerkclub. It was an interesting opening act when compared to the headliner but I liked the contrast that it brought to the night.
I had run into a couple of friends at this show. They were all excited about it and explained to me how they had been waiting for this show for ages. I asked all of them what King Krule is and what to expect. Everyone gave me about the same answer– he’s a British guy and is super good. I would push them for more information but it didn’t get me anywhere. People seemed to be lost for words and could only tell me that I was in for a true treat. Being the music snob I am, I kind of chuckled. Obviously, I would be able to pin this guy into a genre or style. I mean, that’s what I do night after night, right?
I really don’t know how to describe King Krule’s sound. At first, I thought this was a jam band type thing but before the first song was over, I realized that the song had more of a jazz influence than jam and there were even moments that felt more straight-up indie-rock. It was all over the place and I was completely addicted before King Krule and his band had wrapped up “Perfecto Miserable”. That odd combination of more genres than I have the time or patience to type out continued throughout the twenty-five-song set on Friday. I loved how some songs would lean more into one genre than others yet all of the tracks were clearly that of King Krule.
By the time the third song was up and I was done taking photos, I had a second to watch the crowd and realized that it was far more chaotic than I had thought it would be. Sure, King Krule’s music is full of energy but I didn’t expect to see a sea of people moving and jumping in tandem to create the wave effect throughout the floor that is so mesmerizing to watch. It honestly had the vibe of a metal show in the audience but the music lacked that sense of aggression and angst that comes with a metal show. It was a weird dichotomy that I found to be completely addicting.
