cryin' over peter wolf.

The only thing that pains me more than seeing one of my favorite bands put on a poor performance is having to write a poor review on it—especially when it’s factors out of the musicians’ control. Ever since seeing Peter Wolf Crier blow me away as my personal top performance at South By Southwest 2010, I have been all about any and everything these two Mid-Western dudes have been about. Their debut album, Inter-Be, was one of my most played this year—both intimate yet powerful with their folky drum and guitar acoustic collaboration. “Crutch & Cane,” “For Now,” and “Untitled 101” are my jams, period. So when I was randomly selected as a winner on Lincoln Hall’s Facebook page for their gig last week, I was beyond stoked. I didn’t even realize these dudes were in town, since they were the opening act for Dawes and Vetiver, it wasn’t publicized very much. I quickly became giddy with excitement, even recruiting a girlfriend to whom I oohed and ahhed relentlessly to about how powerful Peter Pisano’s falsetto melodic vocals and drummer Brian Moen’s eerily animalistic mad drumming skills were.


Seriously--I was like their biggest fan. And well, to be fair, I still kinda am. When my gal pal and I secured our spot up front and center of the stage, I was sure we were in for a special treat. Up until, some bro dude to my direct right shouted at a semi-glassy eyed Pisano, “Yo Peter! Whatchya’ drinkin’ man?” To which Pisano politely forced a smile and quietly and forcibly replied, “Maker’s. It’s a whiskey; I’m feeling a bit under the weather.” “Dude, I know what Maker’s is! Right on!” Oh no, I thought. Peter’s sick. How the hell is he gonna cry for us tonight? I cursed the bro man to my right for wasting the limited and valuable vocal chords of my beloved crooner.

Around 9:00 pm on the dot, Pisano and Moen got down to it. And at first, it was promising. They opened up their 30-minute set with my personal fave, the album opener “Crutch and Cane” and then transitioned into the addicting, two minute tapper “Untitled 101.” But then Pisano’s voice began to dry up. And looking back on my videos, the sound itself was less than satisfactory. I’m not sure if it was something that was up with Lincoln Hall’s acoustics, the fact that the main room was emptier than what I’m accustomed to (since I’m not usually there early enough for the openers), or if it was the fact that I was so close to the speakers on stage – but as you can see in the video, the sound was distorted and not the clear, crispy goodness I’m so spoiled on with this venue.

Pisano’s typical honey dripping serenade was a forced, throaty series of croaks and my heart instantly sunk. I can barely drag my own butt out of bed with a sore throat to work in a mere cubicle; I can’t even begin to imagine how much it has to suck when you make your money with your voice and it’s shot. To top it off, Pisano’s parents were in the crowd. Poor guy seemed to be having a rough night.

On the upside, Moen was his usual full forced self, banging on his drums for dear life, and Pisano, although ill, still managed to tear up his guitar seemingly unaffected. But unfortunately, any fan of Peter Wolf Crier can attest that Pisano’s vocal range and prowess is what makes the group stand apart from their competitors, and even Peter Wolf Crier can’t wail with a sore throat. For anyone who has seen PWC prior to the LH show, you know what I’m saying that it would be a crime to pass up the chance to check ‘em live; but for those of you who’s first encounter was this past Thursday, I beg of you, pick up their record and give them another go. They’re one of the only bands this past year to give me goose bumps, just more so with the crying vs. the croaking.

i almost cried for peter wolf crier tonite.

out of sadness. and out of laughter. this isn't my official review (which will follow later), but my 'man-i'm-so-exhausted-i-can't-believe-i'm-still-awake' genuine first rambly impression).

first off, i love peter wolf crier. inter-be is a fantastic album. 'untitled 101' and 'crutch & cane' are two of my favorite indie jams of 2010. truth. but doods, i knew from before the set even started by the glassy look in poor leadman peter whatever his last name's eyes, that dude was sick. bro in crowd shouts ' yo peter whattchya drinkin??' like they're best pals and homeboy sadly smiles, 'makers. it's whiskey' 'OH BOY I KNOW WHAT MAKERS IS," bro shouts back. "i'm under the weather," peter force smiles.

awwwwww. anyway. yeah, poor dude had a sore throat. and as badass as he and his drummer were banging their shit instrumentation wise, his voice sounded like a croaking frog. like, in 'crutch and cane' instead of smoothly cooing in his sexy falsetto honey way, 'babeeee zan-zo-barrrr,' he throatily croaked, 'babreeee zshan-zsho-bhar,' and i thought, 'dayumn. i cant even crawl into a cubicle feeling like that. i can't even begin to imagine the frustration if my voice was my carurrr.' and to top it off, his parents were in the crowd. awwwwws all 'round.

so that sucked. the show didn't quite suck, but at the same time yeah it kinda did. but then megan points out the sexy drummer dude's hair (future man i want to date for sure. gotta google stalk that bitch's name. full package : sexy glasses. sexy tattoos. sexy little boy haircut.) the three little cowlick tendrils are fucking blowing in some mysterious windy breeze i can't even see where it's coming from. this is in the midst of 'down down' which is a pretty slow and quiet song. so us geeky dorks (sober, mind you even), attempting to gulp our urping stifled laughter just made it that much worse as we dreamily stared at the blowing hairs.

yes. we are dumb. whatever. that made the show to me, to be honest. at one point i turned to megan and said, 'that man needs to be my boyfriend. now.' and then he started making possessed like facial expressions, banging on his drumkit, appearing to lip sync the words 'bow wow bang bam' or something of the sort. hairs blowing in the wind.

i'm laughing out loud now. i think it's time my sleep deprived ass got some shut eye.

peter wolf crier : venus zine edition.

Peter Wolf Crier

Inter-Be (Jagjaguwar)
By Jodi Root
Published: May 29th, 2010
7:00am

When Peter Pisano cries wolf, everyone listens. Possibly the spring’s worst kept secret, Inter-Be, the debut full-length album from Minnesota duo Pisano and Brian Moen may not have officially hit record store shelves until May 25, but has been busy winning over fans for months since it leaked online. Thanks in part to buzz from music magazines, radio play, and the blogosphere, PWC is no secret—I first fell in love with Pisano’s falsetto vocals and charismatic showmanship earlier this spring at South by Southwest. Bursting with vocal harmonies, dusty guitars, and soft percussion, the combination of live loops and nostalgic pop rock is comparable to labelmate Bon Iver, just more upbeat and hopeful.

Overall, Inter-Be is an essential 2010 release, the ideal soundtrack for those summer backyard barbeques. From the opening chicken scratch guitar twangs in the delectably poppy “Crutch & Cane” and addicting guitar riffs and falsetto melodies of “For Now,” listeners know they’re in for something special. Additional standout tracks include the gripping “Hard as Nails,” the twangy slow jam “Down Down Down,” and perhaps the most magical two minute ditty of the year, “Untitled 101.”

While the majority of the record is easily repeatable, Inter-Be’s only fault is that it tends to drag a bit at the end. “Lion” and “Saturday Night” are merely enjoyable filler if you’re listening to the record from start to finish, but on their own, you might find your mind wandering. Some slow jams are to be expected, though, when your band’s name is Peter Wolf Crier—there’s going to be some cry for attention. The only difference is that music lovers will hardly be ignoring these cries.



with fancier formatting than my meager site: http://www.venuszine.com/articles/music/sounds/7172/Peter_Wolf_Crier