PALMA VIOLETS-Music Hall of Williamsburg

PALMA VIOLETS, THE GUARDS
Music Hall of Williamsburg-Brooklyn, NY
May 9

my iphone photo

British buzz band Palma Violets came to play MHW tonight and a birthday party broke out. Led by duel lead singers Chilli Jesson and Sam Fryer, the band blazed thru their much hyped debut album 180 which blends garage, soul, psychedelic and rock into epic sing along anthems. The Palma Violets built a reputation as a great live band thru weekly shows at small art studio in south London called Studio 180. Only those 'in the know' found the door leading to these parties but word quickly spread and next thing you know Zane Lowe is spinning their single 'Step up for the Cool Cats' on his BBC1 Radio Show, NME chooses 'Best of Friends' as track of the year for 2012 and they get signed to Rough Trade records all before putting out their first full length.

They certainly lived up to their reputation of a great live band tonight. Chilli is one of the more enjoyable lead singers I have seen in a long time. With a youthful exuberance and a badass attitude, he owns the stage and leads the band swinging around his bass guitar. The band, which also includes fantastic drummer Will Doyle and keyboard player Peter Mayhew, constantly engaged the crowd, bringing everyone closer together almost shrinking the size of the venue so we felt as if we were in one of their weekly Studio 180 parties. Songs like 'Best of Friends', 'Step up for the Cool Cats', 'We Found Love', 'Last of the Summer Wine' and 'Chicken Dippers' all got kicked up a few notches. One guy, feeling the power of the Palma Violets live, thrusts his crutches into the air as if say, 'I CAN WALK'! For the encore, the band invited opening bands and friends on stage while they presented Chilli with a cake for his birthday. As to be expected, cake frosting started flying around the stage followed by beer and anything else they could get their hands on before breaking into a cover of The Hot Nasties 'Invasion of the Tribbles' leading everyone singing along with them 'oh yeah! oh yeah! oh yeah!' A messy birthday party broke out on stage and we all became part of it. So goes a Palma Violets show. Happy Birthday Chilli. You and your band have a great year ahead of you. Thanks for a great show. 

Best of Friends-from SXSW (Thanks rincewind1013 for posting on youtube)

KEXP-full performance (Thanks KEXP for posting on youtube)