The first time I saw NJ’s Titus Andronicus was back in ~2012, in a raucous punk show at the Brooklyn Bowl. It was as messy of a show as you’d imagine a bowling alley would host – the band was still riding their Monitor high, the audience was trashed, I was trashed, and I won’t comment on the band’s level of inebriation. I was worried that the Crystal Ballroom in Somerville, with its banquet style tables and humid atmosphere, would be unequipped to host such a show. But a lot can change in a decade; this wasn’t a punk show, it was a rock and roll show. Older and wiser, Titus Andronicus were more toned down than their younger selves.
The band is touring in support of their seventh album, The Will To Live. While I think Fucked Up earns the title of Most Ambitious Punk Band, Titus Andronicus is certainly the ones most in control of their ambitions. Their catalog includes behemoth concept albums like their 2010 classic The Monitor and The Most Lamentable Tragedy, as well as shorter and more low-stakes albums like A Productive Cough and An Obelisk. But their new album is the first to truly blend their more contained side with their ambitious, unhinged elements. It’s a concept album, but one given with a digestible length and approachable sound. It’s maybe the first time the band has sounded truly mature in a comfortable way, even if the album was inspired by a sudden real-life passing. Last Thursday, the band confronted this maturity with open arms.
Country Westerns
But first – Nashville’s Country Westerns opened. While I came into the show having never heard the group (and unfortunately, a few minutes late), I was pleasantly down with what the band had to offer. They had nothing in the way of country or western, but instead came through with a set of very fun, throwback rock that wove classic rock with 90’s fuzz. I couldn’t help but draw a comparison in both sound and demeanor between singer/guitarist Joseph Plunket and Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis, although the latter band never came up when Plunket asked the crowd what the all-time best Boston band was. General consensus: The Modern Lovers. The band was given a full hour to showcase and used it well, likely a sign of good faith from Titus Andronicus as both bands heaped nonstop praise on each other.
Titus Andronicus started their set modestly – the first two songs were cuts from their new album, “My Mother is Going to Kill Me” and “(I’m) Screwed.” They followed those up with a full-band version of the great acoustic jam “Above the Bodega (Local Business),” a song that sounded even better with a full electric band. It was an honest way to open the set, as none of these songs have the chaotic energy of the band’s heyday. After a brief foray into the debut album classic “Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ,” they knocked out two more new ones – “Give Me Grief” and “Baby Crazy.” They only played one new cut in the back half of the set, frontloading it with a balance of sound and energy.
Patrick Stickles
But, much like the album they were supporting, they had to unleash the uncontrollable side as well. Titus Andronicus will always, at their heart, be a manic and spirited group. This started to come out more in the latter half, as they dug into wilder songs like “Dimed Out” and “Tumult Around the World.” Frontman Patrick Stickles was his same playful self, telling mysterious anecdotes about living in Somerville, playing a jazzy Halloween song that included some improvised lyrics about an audience member’s attire, and yes, still imbibing on stage. He was adorned on some songs by a guitar that looked like it had survived a war. Even as the music gets more balanced, more mature, and more reflective, the band still has fun. The final three songs of the set – “Four Score and Seven,” “A More Perfect Union” and “Titus Andronicus Forever,” all cuts from The Monitor – they had the full audience and themselves fully unleashed.
All in all, the band played 13 songs across all but one of their albums (leaving off only Local Business, arguably their most maligned release but this writer’s personal favorite). It was an incredibly fun show, and one that highlights a journey a band can take through the years. They may have grown older, grown up, with an audience that’s grown with them, but they will always provide a top tier live performance. Rock and roll will never be contained. Rock and roll forever. Titus Andronicus forever.
The Will to Live is available on bandcamp and on streaming services. This was the final show of the band’s tour, but be sure to catch them next time they come through!
