When I met Beauty School Dropout at Starland and they told me they’d be performing at Silver Lining Lounge, I was a bit surprised that this high energy alt-rock band with some epic pits would be performing at a venue I had previously only seen piano performances at. Little did I fucking know that by the end of the night, there would be blood on the dance floor. Let’s get into it, baby.
I forgot to buy a ticket, but I bargained my way into a $50 minimum bar tab in exchange for entry ($50 bar tab, that’s like two drinks). Even though I showed up an hour early, there were about a hundred fans crowding the stage, bathed in a deep red glow. Everyone seemed paired up chatting or dancing near the DJ, who at that moment was smoothly transitioning Bad and Boujee by Migos into September by Earth, Wind, and Fire. There was one person milling about alone, and when we made eye contact and he smiled at me, I approached with my classic concert cold-open: “Do you know this band?” This man laughed in my face. Not because he was a dick, but rather because he was, in fact, the bassist, Brent (beepus) Burdett.
The blonde shirtless Novonty and Burdett flanking the dark-haired lead singer Colin Hutzler in a leather vest contrasted like two angels on his shoulders.Beauty School Dropout sneaks up on you, tempting you with familiar rock sounds and before kicking you into something new.
Burdett was wandering around the crowd, greeting audience members and older men in suits with all the comfort of someone performing a hometown show. A closer look at the DJ booth revealed the familiar mop of hair behind guitarist and producer Bardo Novonty. Like I said, it was a well executed and ambitious set. For a band from LA, they sure seemed plugged in to the NYC music scene. They wandered around in their classic Discheveled Business Casual dress code, but the shirts came off as soon as they took the stage. The blonde shirtless Novonty and Burdett flanking the dark-haired lead singer Colin Hutzler in his black leather vest contrasted like two angels on his shoulders.
Part of what sets the audience on fire at a BSD show is that it feels like they’re flirting with you. Hutzler’s winks and coy smiles delight an already expressive face as he sings about love and heartbreak and beautiful women, especially from their new album WHERE DID ALL THE BUTTERFLIES GO. The crowd favorite was clearly “Fever” with its anthemic chorus, but we can’t overlook the funky “Heart Away”, a timeless almost-boy-band track with a ripping and moving guitar providing the alt-funk twist. Beauty School Dropout sneaks up on you, tempting you with familiar rock sounds and before kicking you into something new.
We made it almost to the end of the show before the first crowdsurfer appeared, much to the dismay of the security guard and to the ever growing elation of the band. And listen, I empathize with venue owners and their potential liabilities, but Silver Linings had to know what they were signing up for with this group. I’ve seen them twice and the audience was basically feral by the end. There’s one last song, and how am I gonna turn down the chance to mosh in a piano lounge? The pit was an illicit heaven, bodies thrown together fueled by the collective knowledge that we didn’t have long before the guards arrived to tear us down. There’s nothing like now-or-never to bring a group together.
A good show stands out for its shape, its movement. It’s a steady escalation of energy and lowering of inhibitions. The phones come down, the photos get blurry, the smell of sweat grows stronger as we push closer together and the carefully cultivated aesthetics drop. It’s on the artist to fan the flames until we all go up in smoke. Or until we all get kicked out of the Silver Linings Lounge.