NXNE: White Rabbits & The Black Belles

text: Michael Raine | photography: Brian Patterson

“Hi, we’re White Rabbits,” says singer Stephen Patterson as the band walked on, thus speaking about a third of the night’s stage banter. Content to let the music do the talking, the Brooklyn six-piece launched right into their brisk 35 minute set at The Mod Club.

With three guitars, a keyboard, bass, and two drummers, there was no lack of noise emanating from the sound system.  Leaning heavily on their most recent album, Milk Famous, – which was released in March to near-universal critical praise – the band segued from one song to the other with almost no breaks, proving that a hectic tour schedule can make for a very tight group of musicians. Patterson’s soaring falsetto was in fine form, easily overcoming the huge racket from his bandmates that might likely drown out a weaker singer.

While newer tracks like “Heavy Metal” (which is neither particularly heavy, nor metal-y) showed that the band is more than capable of doing the synth-driven indie thing as well as any band, it was the more stripped back, percussive, older songs – like 2009’s aptly titled “Percussion Gun” – that really had the greatest impact. That may because second drummer Matthew Clark, banging away wildly on a partial drum set of two tom-toms, snare, and cymbal, is easily the most mesmerizing member of the band, at least on this night.   But therein laid White Rabbits’ problem on Thursday – when a guy with half a drum kit at the back right of the stage is the most entertaining part of the show, there has to be something missing. This is especially true for a band like White Rabbits, who are known for their high energy performances

Maybe it was the fact that The Mod Club was only half full, or the 9 p.m. start time, or maybe it was the abbreviated set list. Not to bring the band down, it was a fine performance. The sound was tight, singer sounded great, and everything went off without a hitch. But truly great shows have a sense of urgency and this wasn’t one of those shows. For a band that is known to be exceptional live, on this night they were merely good.

Luckily, the night’s second show, The Black Belles, playing a midnight set in the dungeon-like confines of The Garrison, did meet expectations.

A capacity crowd rapturously received the three black-clad girls like they were Jack White himself, rather than one of his his label signings. Undoubtedly, a lot of the curiosity and hype that currently surrounds The Black Belles stems from their connection to the former White Stripe (who signed them to his label, Third Man Records, and produced their self-titled debut album).

Oddly, normally a four-piece, The Black Belles were down one member as keyboardist Tina NoGood was conspicuously nonexistent (no mention of her or explanation of her absence was given). Regardless, the band’s roughly 40 minute set proved that these girls are far more than Jack White-coattail-surfers. Yes, White’s influence is apparent in both their colour-coordinated look and blistering goth-garage riffs, which is hardly a bad thing, since the Black Belles pull it off exceptionally well. Drummer Shelby Lynn appears to have a compulsive need to bang the shit out of the drums while singer-guitarist Olivia Jean plays and sings song like “Leave You with a Letter” with an aggression and attitude that wouldn’t be out of place on a Cramps album.

There are points where the Jack White comparisons become a little too obvious. Particularly “Honky Tonk Horror”, which Jean described as “our attempt to write a country” but it comes across more as a re-write of The White Stripes’ “Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine”.

From a critical viewpoint, the inescapable Jack White comparisons should detract from The Black Belles’ appeal. But when a 40-minute set feels like 15 minutes, what should seem like a good band then feels like an exceptional one. Kind of the opposite of White Rabbits.