Last friday, I trekked from the boring suburbs of Long Island to the lively and trendy Williamsburg area of Brooklyn to see the British grunge band Drenge tear it up at The Knitting Factory. This was my first time at the famed venue, and was taken back by how relaxed the vibe was. I stopped in a little before the show, checked out happy hour, and was impressed with their reasonably priced beers and shot specials. It was a nice break from paying $8 for a beer at other venues. As expected, there were a ton of skinny dudes with beards and girls who look like they walked out of an Urban Outfitter’s catalog. But hey, that’s not such a bad thing if it improves your aesthetic. Definitely not the rowdy happy hour crowds I’m used to in RVC.
After skipping the opening band to grab a slice of pizza, I headed back to The Knitting Factory to get a good spot in the crowd for Drenge. The turn out was bigger than I first realized, probably because of how mellow the audience was. The band opened up with “Running Wild” which is off of their newest album “Undertow” released back in April. There were no mosh pits, no crowd surfers, and no rowdy attendees. Just a bunch of young people rocking out while being conscious of the people around them. No one was trying to show off or be anything besides themselves. Everyone was there to appreciate the music.
The band, composed of brothers Eoin and Rory Loveless, has added a new live bass player to the line up. I think this was a great move because it really tied the raw, angst vibe to their music. Watching them play was almost hypnotic: Rory’s vocals sounded exactly as it does on their albums. After playing an impressive 16 song set; including fan favorites such as “We Can Do What We Want,” “Face Like a Skull” and “Fuckabout“, they closed with “Let’s Pretend” The crowd perked up for the last two songs and even started chanting “DRENGE” during the breakdown of the last song. Overall, it was a great performance at a killer venue. Be sure to check out Drenge’s newest album “Undertow” out now!