Posted Aug. 20, 2004.
Everyone has bad days. It's a fact of life. But the real trick is how well you spring back from them.
On Aug. 16 Ambulance LTD, an up-and-coming band from New York City, had what appeared to be a rather bad day. The band was delayed on the way to Black Cat, showing up about 10 minutes before they were scheduled to go on. With a limited amount of time to set up and sound check, one would expect Ambulance to be a little stressed out. After all, they were opening for Elefant, one of the must-have indie rock bands of the day, and the Black Cat was unusually packed for a Monday night.
But unexpectedly, Ambulance good-naturedly launched into a flawlessly energetic set without stopping to mourn the fact that their instruments had not been carefully adjusted and the audience was irked by their lateness. Irritation on the part of the crowd did not last through the first song, however. After hearing Ambulance's melodic indie rock and seeing their unwavering enthusiasm, the room was hooked.
Unfortunately, the Black Cat's management tried to shoo the band off after three songs, ignoring opposing pleas from the band and audience. Refusing to be brought down any further, Ambulance played one last song, much like naughty schoolboys who refuse to follow the teacher's directions. And boy did their dissidence pay off; the final song was like an aggressive "screw you" to an unfortunate day.
Elkland - a young '80s-influenced band who recently signed to Columbia - opened the show, enrapturing the room before anyone realized Ambulance hadn't even reached the venue yet. Elkland's Cure-revival rock was engaging, and the band certainly has the whole brooding indie look down pat. The obvious lack of energy on stage did not detract from their charisma, as it does many such bands. The lead singer's capturing presence and faux-Brit vocals made for a set that sent the crowd to the merchandise table looking for CDs, but finding only a lone mailing list.
Elefant, a band that gets an awful lot of attention in the indie scene, was, at best, mediocre. After hearing all the hype and seeing pictures of lead singer Diego Garcia looking very fetching in numerous magazines, one would assume their live show would be a fulfilling experience. But in fact, the best thing Elefant had to offer on Monday was some nicely designed T-shirts for sale in the back.
Considering that cult-rockers the Polyphonic Spree were playing a show a few blocks away, Elefant and Ambulance managed to draw a surprisingly large crowd on Monday. It was almost like battle of the indie "it" bands and Ambulance stole the show, proving that something positive can always be pulled out of even the worst of days.
