Rob Goald

Rob Goald | The Joy Formidable | The Naked & The Famous

The Joy Formidable and The Naked & The Famous

By Rob Goald
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The Joy Formidable and The Naked & The Famous

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
The Joint
Las Vegas, Nevada
Wednesday, December 7th at 7:30 PM
Tickets were FREE

By Rob Goald

The Joy Formidable and The Naked & Famous Deliver Powerful Sets At Night #1 of Holiday Havoc

CBS Radio’s X107.5 brought night number #1 of their Holiday Havoc shows to The Joint to showcase two up and coming bands touring the USA from Europe and the Pacific. Originally to headline were rock veterans Jane’s Addiction, but due to a severe illness in the family of one of the band members they decided that this performance was not feasible at the last minute. Rather than cancelling the show, a deal was arranged to turn night number #1 into a free concert as a promotion.

Opening the show was Welsh power trio The Joy Formidable.

At the Vegas concert last week, the band played a “pumped-up” 55 minute set featuring songs from their compelling and engaging full-length new album simply titled “The Roar” which has been getting a lot of attention from rock critics. Taking a cue from the early ‘90s, when bands like Lush and Slowdive were all the rage in England playing electric, guitar-driven noise, The Joy Formidable cranked their amps to the breaking point.

The Joy Formidable

Lead singer Ritzy Bryan’s vocals were on top of the mix and she sang her melodies in a sweet intonation.  The most poignant of their songs were tunes titled “Whirring” and “The Ever-Changing Spectrum of a Lie” wherein the instrumentals enthrall with hypnotic resonance.

Headlining the evening were New Zealand’s inventive and unique electronic ensemble The Naked & The Famous.

Their one hour set featured songs from their highly acclaimed album “Passive Me, Aggressive You”.   The band has two strong lead singers in Alisa Xayalith and Thom Powers blending their harmonies with fuzzed-out synth, distorted drumbeat, and slow-zipper guitar.  Among the stand-outs in their set was the powerfully catching “Punching In A Dream” and the angst-driven “Girls Like You”. They concluded their encore performance with a dance rock orgy of melody with the shimmering and multi-layered hit single “Youngblood”.

The Naked & The Famous

X107.5 should be commended for going ahead with the show under these dire circumstances. Both bands exhibited the professionalism of much more seasoned acts and brought the joy and good will of the holiday season to Las Vegas with their wonderfully inventive music. It was, indeed, holiday havoc!

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