There's a vampire behind the bar, a collection of zombies in the audience and – no change here, perhaps – a pair of Lurch-like creatures manning the doors.
And up there, on the Cockpit stage, it's the Ghost of Music Past. The Walkmen, the best band of 2004 to be never heard of again.
There was a sound – guitar squall and NYC ennui – which had a time and a place. Namely: everywhere back then; nowhere
ever since. That's perhaps why 2004's Bows And Arrows was a critical and commercial hit, while 2006's follow-up, A Hundred Miles Off, disappeared without trace.
And it's probably why this evening's audience is of, shall we say, a certain age. Just a little past being young.
The problem with The Walkmen was they were never The Strokes. Harsh for sure, but true.
They never had a front man that looked like Julian Casablancas. They never had a song that sounded like Last Nite. Actually, that's not quite true.
The Rat was the ferocious piece of garage rock which – ironically given its name – first dragged The Walkmen from the underground.
Tonight, it's the only thing the zombies really dance to. Afterwards even the band seem to know they can't top it. A shame because
the rest of their set is really pretty decent.
They sound brutal and brilliant, and lead singer Hamilton Leithauser's voice is an instrument all of its own. Yet ultimately, The Rat excluded, they sound magnificent without ever quite being magic.
Hallowe'en in Leeds and Trick or Treat, but there are too few treats provided by The Walkmen.
The Cockpit, Leeds
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