Smith Westerns w/ the Enchantments Live in Swarthmore, PA (4/2/10)

Who?: Smith Westerns w/ the Enchantments
Where?: The Olde Club @ Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA
When?: April 2nd, 2010

Hello, hello. Sorry for the gap between this and my last post. Between the holiday weekend and working I haven’t been able to make this post until right now. So last weekend, a friend and I decided to make the trip out to Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA to check out the Smith Westerns. We showed up very early, met some cool people, and then to kill some time we walked around the enormous campus before it was time for the show to start. While walking around we ran into singer/guitarist Andrew Ashbrook from the opening band The Enchantments, who was riding around on a Razor Scooter he found somewhere on campus. We found out a little information on the band after running into Andrew. He revealed to us that it was only their 3rd show as the Enchantments, and that they came from Brooklyn, NY on a cheaper-than-dirt Megabus to play the show that night, amongst other things. Pretty cool. So up first were The Enchantments:

The Enchantments – Modern Late at Nights – So I don’t know the name of this one, but it is quite a dance-y track. I can tell you right now that people were dancing their drunken asses off for these guys. The bass line stands out the most by far. On top of the bass line are layers of thick and noisy guitar, which give these guys a sound that is a perfect balance between noise-rock and dance music. Even when the guitars are at their fullest, the dance element sticks around to keep people moving. Not to mention the electronic drum machine, which also plays a huge role in their dance-y sound. According to an e-mail I got from the band, this is a re-worked song from one of Andrew’s old bands called “The Gluons”.

The Enchantments – Super Deadly Ninja Bee – Once again in this track…listen to that bass line! It just ropes you in a keeps you listening. So catchy! The jangly guitars in this one again bring forth that noisy side of their sound, but I’m a little upset that you can’t hear the vocals in the video. Oh well. The track suddenly comes to an end when they turn off the drum machine, which always seemed like it happened way too soon. That was always the signal that their song was ending too – if they turned off the drum machine. Next up was the headlining act, Chicago’s own Smith Westerns!

Smith Westerns – Boys are Fine – They took the stage fairly quickly and started with the song “Boys are Fine”. They played approximately 10 songs that night, and they were finished within about a half hour.

Smith Westerns – Girl in Love – This is a fun track, but then again I think every Smith Westerns track could qualify as “fun”.

Smith Westerns – Tonight – This is the 6th and longest track from their self-titled release “Smith Westerns” that was put out by HoZac Records in Chicago, IL. This glamorous pop song has some nice guitar work towards the end, found during the last minute of the track.

Smith Westerns – Gimme Some Time – This one is much faster and once again, fun. I’m pretty sure that’s what these guys are all about – just having some good old fashioned fun. I think that’s clear if you just watch the videos. The guitarist on the far left lays down some awesome licks before the track comes to an end.

Smith Westerns – My Heart – The sprawling last track from their self-titled album is a noisy and sloppy pop-punk mess when performed live. They all rock out quite hard in this one before moving into their next song “Be My Girl”.

Smith Westerns – Be My Girl – After playing “My Heart”, they decided to change things up a bit and slow it all down with “Be My Girl”. During the last minute the guitarist at the far left tears it up with a nice solo, and shortly after the band attempted to pack up their things and head out, but the crowd wasn’t about to just let them leave. Everyone yelled and screamed and carried on until the Smith Westerns were forced to play one last song for us.

Smith Westerns – Dreams – They quickly returned to the stage and played one last song. It was the opening track from their self-titled album, called “Dreams”. If it wasn’t for the crowd that harassed them back onto the stage, I don’t think we would have heard this song that night. Either way I still would have been happy, but this made things that much better. After this one, the Smith Westerns called it quits and began to pack up their things.

Thanks for reading once again, and be sure to check back soon!

Smith Westerns on Myspace
BUY the Smith Westerns self-titled album direct from HoZac Records
The Enchantments on Myspace
The Enchantments on Facebook