Pissed Jeans played WFMU Fest (pics), playing CMJ

October 6, 2009

“The Pissed Jeans live experience in a word? Sexy. Undeniably sexy, almost erotic. Singer Matt Korvette does everything that we–ladies, the world–are not meant to find attractive: rubbing his sweaty chest, awkwardly dancing, gyrating his hips, eating his foot, doing high kicks, wearing Cheap Mondays–but it works. These are all things I knew before but seeing it, and his crotch, in your face reaffirms them. His onstage swagger, for that it is what it is because he must know the effect he has, stands in stark contrast to the stunted machismo that happens in the pit during most of their shows. This time, a shirtless young man stage dived only to meet nothing but empty floor as the band continued to thrash and hash out its thoughts on the banal minutiae of everyday life. Guitarist Bradley Fry and bassist Randy Huth pushed the group’s brand of undulating, harried, and sludgy hardcore forward while Korvette interjected with humorous tales of ennui (“Half Jesii Part 2”) and the nine-to-five world (“Dream Smotherer.”) Drummer Sean McGuinness yakked all over the stage. Sorry man, but that’s all I can say about you. They stormed through songs from their excellent new album, King of Jeans, and indulged in their own mix of fleshy, visceral raunch. Korvette came onstage, asked the crowd if there were any pregnant women in the audience, and then proclaimed that they might be his, followed by a few swishes of his hips. After that show, there probably were.” [FADER]

Pissed Jeans headlined the second night of the three-night WFMU Fest at Music Hall of Williamsburg over the weekend. Their next NYC show is later this month when they appear at Mercury Lounge for the official Sub Pop CMJ showcase. More pictures from MHOW below…