Pleasure Leftists

  I missed Population but I caught Pleasure Leftists. They headlined Cole's on Thursday 25 October. They are from Cleveland. The music without Haley's voice immediately reminded me of live Joy Division. It was basic, rough, lead guitar, bass and drums. The bass was aggressive and under the impression that it was front and center. In appearing to compete they actually play off each other. The lead guitar answering the primitive viking bass.  They race each other like muscle cars on a long stretch of highway. You can say the songs are different episodes of this clash of guitars. I love this because in seeming to compete they create a separate thing to appreciate on top of Haley's power-wailing. Imagine this, two drunken belligerent uncles arguing over shit at their nieces birthday party. That's the conversation between bass and lead guitar. The two usual tios, and tia Haley is the only one ballsy enough to control them, 'cause they respect her authority. That's the voice of Haley. This Factory 70's English punk influence becomes more pronounced as the show went on. It could be just my own mind seeking out patterns where none exist. But damn it,  even Haley wore vintage 70's second hand clothes. Seriously, what she wore reminded me of a young tia of mine in some old 70's birthday photo, a relative visiting from Queretaro, Mexico in '78, Queretaro....'cause from there they are lighter skinned.  There was always something to suggest that certain period... 70's from Ms Haley's clothes to the music, the bass, .....and reading Pitchfork, and I didn't want to read them. They don't help.
  Anyway back to the moment, their moment, and all that got me there was the word of the lead singer to Population. No research, no nothing. So when I walk into Cole's you search for the tells among the porous but heavy crowd. The first to greet me at the door is Philly Peroxide, and a member of the brief but wonderful Rosen Association. These are friends with very similar tastes in music. If they are there, that means something. Oh, I just missed Population....oh, but Pleasure Leftists are next! Cool, at least I'll know what they are like. Then as I walk in, more tells. There's Aimee! And then in the middle of the show, there's Corey from Lightfoils/Panda Riot. Oh, and Lightfoils are playing early this May! And he really noticed the bass playing. I think he liked it. It's great to see these bands with other musicians, for they will observe things differently from myself. I don't play an instrument, so I try to listen to how a musician observes. Having said this, I wish not to alarm my friends into thinking that I am "taking notes with my eyes". Now that I've stumbled onto this Almost Famous movie reference, here is another......just follow. And next time watch the movie.
  Remember this scene in Almost Famous, when William is about to kiss Penny Lane, going where many have gone before. You run the risk of sounding like its been tried. This does not happen here with Pleasure Leftists.

  http://epicureme.com/tv-film-music/pleasure-leftists-fan-death-records/And so it comes down to how original can you sound when part of what resonates feels coming since the late 70's English punk.  Anyway, I was not coldly analyzing the performance. I was too busy being into it, and wondering where the fuck was I when they were playing in 2011? I was liking it so much that I wished I was present in all of Pleasure Leftists gigs. So good that it hurts. So I'm going to use another metaphor. Lets not confuse trying to be Bruce Lee with with mastering Jeet Kune Do. This is what Pleasure Leftists strike me as masters of. Besides, a diamond is a diamond no matter when you discover it, no matter how many you have found. PL make me happy to be in the here and now to see them in Cole's and not wishing I was in the past seeing the old punk and post-punk originals. After their shows, they still had to live in Thatcher's England, we don't. We have our own problems that inspire some to write and perform their music that the rest of us....it's a mirror to our own experiences. Anyway, now I must listen to them more. I write this to remember the experience, to not let it slip. PL have it in them to inspire now and a shelf-life that will inspire far later. However....I will not allow my niece who is ten now, discover this in her twenties before me. I am not having it. My finger prints will be all over it first.
Zig