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White Lies, Friendly Fires & The Soft Pack @ Bowery Ballroom, NYC - pics

photos by Chris La Putt

Friendly Fires
Friendly Fires

White Lies and Friendly Fires, a pair of vigorous young bands from Britain, take divergent paths toward much the same destination. In both cases, the unspoken aim is a kind of submissive bliss: they want you in their thrall, not just listening but experiencing, absorbing. By that measure they were impressively but only intermittently successful at the Bowery Ballroom on Thursday night.

Each band has released one album, making a splash chiefly in Britain, at least for now. A few months ago White Lies made its British chart debut at No. 1 with “To Lose My Life …,” which Geffen released in the United States last week. Friendly Fires had more modest success last year with its self-titled album on XL.

The bands, which are jointly headlining a North American tour, have been sponsored and duly plugged by NME, the British music magazine, with the Soft Pack, from Southern California, as an opening act.” [NY Times]

The second of two shows at Bowery Ballroom was Friday night (3/27). More pictures from that show, including two of the setlists, below…

The Soft Pack…

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

the soft pack

White Lies…

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

White Lies

Friendly Fires…

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires

Friendly Fires