The Growlers - Knitting Factory - 1/24/13

By Kai Flanders Fri., Jan. 25 2013 at 7:54 AM

Categories: Last Night

Better than: Staying in because of the cold.

The Growlers are a band that describe their time on earth in terms of "moon cycles" and put out a 25 "greatest hits" collection before having a major label release.. They have a Ty Segal-esque output strategy: that of the shotgun set to fully automatic. When I interviewed them last year, lead singer Brooks Nielsen, in reference to a stalled effort with the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, said that he didn't give a shit if people got bored of his long records. They seem unhinged--their one-time live-in studio in Costa Mesa, California, had impaled baby dolls hanging from the ceiling--but their brand of madness is a delightful tab to swallow.

And while last night didn't feature any of their famed mumu/pagan-mask wearing it did have plenty of Growler-tude to it. Their fans are a breed bordering on deranged cult, but the sort of cult that would give you free weed instead of forcing you to drink the Kool-Aid. The beach-goth five piece inspired a weird juxtaposition of a violent mosh and girls dancing onstage in a way you'd expect to see at an Usher concert.