REVIEW: CRX @ Brighton Music Hall 11/20

Sunday night might have been cold and snowy in Boston, but inside Brighton Music Hall the crowd was sufficiently warmed up by some West Coast vibes. Attendees seemed to include mostly fans of The Strokes, eager to get an up-close and personal experience of Nick Valensi and his new band, CRX. Despite those fans, the show drew a very small crowd. Nevertheless, it allowed for a more intimate and exclusive experience.

San Diego band The Gloomies walked on stage dressed in casual, all-white attire. They seemed to have just gotten off their shift working as cabana boys, or perhaps as gardeners, as Streets of Laredo singer Daniel Gibson suggested. Their carefree, surf rock sound had me imagining laying under palm trees in a pool on one of those oversized floats without a single responsibility.

After the first chilled out set, Streets of Laredo were ready to have fun and get the people going, bringing their enthusiastic New Zealand charm and engaging banter among themselves and the crowd. They brought out all the stops with synths, various percussive instruments, and even a trumpet. They were showcasing songs from their new album, Wild, making for quite a performance from this indie folk rock five-piece.

Finally, CRX came to the stage ready to show off Valensi’s new project. I was looking forward to seeing how he would take on this new role. But The Strokes’ guitarist-turned-CRX front man seemed a bit more reserved than I might have anticipated, with little engagement between himself and the crowd. However, he did disclose that for Thanksgiving dinner he’s not much of a turkey guy and prefers the sides, candied yams being a favorite. While their set was well-executed, opening with the gritty, fast-paced “On Edge,” and of course playing singles “Ways to Fake It” and “Broken Bones,” it was also very brief, as they played all but one song from their debut album, New Skin.

But perhaps what lacked from this show was the energy of the crowd. CRX’s songs demanded to be danced, head-banged, and maybe even moshed to, but not much of that was seen at the half-filled concert hall. Overall, they put on a good show that left me wanting more, and I was delightfully intrigued to see Valensi as the singer-songwriter stimulus of CRX.

Photo and Review by Kristen Lay