Psychedelic Porn Crumpets in NYC
A fun night of heavy psychedelic jams at Webster Hall
Event Details:
Date: May 10, 2024
Venue: Webster Hall (Manhattan)
Ticket Price: $37.45
Artists: Psychedelic Porn Crumpets w/ Spoon Benders
What a great show to officially kickoff my staycation, where I aspire to do absolutely nothing but hang with my cats and see as many shows as I possibly can before I return to work in 10 days. Tonight featured Western Australian band Psychedelic Porn Crumpets and Portland based Spoon Benders. Both bands center around a heavy psych sound, with the Crumpets mixing in more progressive/stoner rock and Spoon Benders tapping into their goth punk side.
I didn’t even know who the opening act was until I searched the show earlier today but I was very impressed and bummed I arrived a few songs late. The band had a total Portland aesthetic and their lead singer has a really unique voice and strong stage presence. If I had to compare her to anyone it would be a mix of Patti Smith and Joan Jett but more grungy. The music had a nice groove to it, the drummer had some fun fills and the bass was mixed well but the lead guitarist was kind of goofy. No knock on his skills but some of his stage antics felt forced and it was difficult not to chuckle at times. I hope to see more from this band in the future.
I should have known it was the calm before the storm and the relatively tame audience during the first set was soon to erupt once the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets took the stage. They opened with some good humor as they place what looked like a toy turtle on a stool and had a mike pointed downward to give the appearance that it was singing the track being played over the house speakers before the band took the stage. The crowd gave the band a warm welcome and then everyone seemingly started jumping in harmony once they started playing the first song. I could feel the floor flexing below my feet.
They had some really cool visuals playing on the screen behind them that fit the trippy effects of their tunes. Everyone in the crowd was having a good time and you could see the smiles on the faces of people moshing, crowd surfing and banging their heads; the lead singer even got in on the action and did some crowd surfing during one of the final songs. The set had a nice ebb and flow, as they balanced their uptempo heavy psych rock with some more laid back tunes to give the crowd a breather before ramping it back up to finish the night.
The Psychedelic Porn Crumpets are absolute legends and all around sick fuckin cunts. Anyone that speaks Aussie knows that is one of the utmost compliments you can give someone from Oz.
Cheers mates and keep rocking!