Why it is that when Jimmy Page breaks into
the noisy chaos of the “Heartbreaker” solo or when Robert Plant sensually
slides into a note and tops it off with a moan the result is something riveting
that punches the listener’s face, but when other artists try to emulate the
rawness of these legends, it just ends up sounding sloppy?
I have no idea.
Tuesday night at the Living Room, Nic
Armstrong—also from Britain but quite a bit younger than Page and Plant—clumsily trod the line between dirty, gut-wrenching blues and careless,
noisy blues with mixed results.
Currently based in Austin, Armstrong told
the audience he put together his New York show on a whim. He performed solo,
with a one-man-band setup that consisted of his heavily distorted guitar, a
kick drum with a tambourine on top of it (which sounds exactly like a kick drum
with a tambourine on it, in case you were wondering), a harmonica, and his
incredibly high-pitched voice—which, yes, is reminiscent of Robert Plant’s.
He opened with “Sycophant,” and immediately
grabbed the 20 or so people in the audience with the huge sound of his
guitar, spookily contrasting with the winding melody he sang in a squeaky-clean, almost feminine voice. When the kick drum—well, kicked in—martially
pounding out quarter notes, it was impossible not to think of the White
Stripes; similarly, when Armstrong broke out of the heavy chords to pluck out a fuzzy
guitar solo, I almost thought I was seeing Jack White.
But after a couple of songs the set began
to feel repetitive and Armstrong’s playing quickly became sloppy. “Blood Red Oranges”
started with a clean, guitar riff, floating down the neck in thirds, which
offered a nice break from the sometimes indiscernibly distorted harmonies of
other songs. But it quickly fell flat with the drumming tripping slightly out
of time and the guitar returning to its usual ruckus within the first half of
the song.
“On a Promise,” on the other hand, a
straight up rock and roll with a delirious harmonica introduction, really
gelled, and the result was a fun throwback song that showcased Armstrong’s
talent.
Maybe Armstrong just didn’t have enough time to practice
before this gig. “I rustled up this show at the last minute,”
he said towards the end of the show. “I hope to be here next time with a full
band and some shenanigans.”
I’d give him the benefit of the doubt and
check those shenanigans out.