Sad Brains

Bad Brains are irrefutably one of the smartest, catchiest, most inventive and best punk bands ever. They obliterated the "punk" label by genre-hopping more than any great hardcore band in history, and anyone with a passing interest in punk, reggae, funk, metal, hard rock, jazz, ska or rock n' roll should be exposed to H.R., Dr. Know, Darryl Jenifer and Earl Hudson. If only any of that was discernible at the Bad Brains post-Election Day show at Irving Plaza.



A wide-eyed, enthusiastic fan introduced the band, exhibiting energy and excitement that Bad Brains were unable to match. The songs were all there--from "Attitude" to "Sailin' On," from "Re-Ignition" to "Fearless Vampire Killers," and the band gave proper representation to their sound latest album, Build a Nation. But even a faultless setlist couldn't overpower the listless performance from the band, predominately singer H.R., who was content to stand planted behind the microphone and mumble half of each song's lyrics, sometimes out of sync with melody. He also sat down several times and wiped his brow fervently, but that came from his sweltering attire and not any on stage action.

Between a few gaps for tuning, the band raced through every song, dutifully adding backup vocals when necessary and playing their '80s repertoire like pros. The rush of hearing the intros to "At the Movies," "Soul Craft," "Big Takeover" and many more were genuinely thrilling, until blah performances muted the music's vibrancy. Save for a few seconds during the new "Give Thanks and Praises" when pulled off a Michael Stipe-ish dance move, H.R. stood in front of the microphone with an irremovable Cheshire grin, occasionally muttering indecipherable stage banter and looking down at lyrics sheets.

For a band playing some intensely political music ("Riot Squad," "The Regulator,") there was surprisingly no mention of the monumental American political event from the night before. It's well-known that reggae (like Bad Brains) can be belligerent, principled and socially conscious music. It can also be a beach party soundtrack, and it seemed as if H.R. finally was content for it to be the latter.



It's also possible that substance abuse and age have left H.R. semi-incapacitated. But consider the red-blooded performances that Nick Cave, Iggy Pop and other aged/shopworn rock vets consistently deliver, and H.R.'s appearance was just disappointing.

By the time Bad Brains rummaged through "Pay to Cum" and "Banned in D.C.," it was hard to tell how those songs made the band so dangerous in the '80s. Purists will ralph, but Rancid's performance last summer at the same venue was all-around a better punk show.

H.R. assured the crowd that there would be an encore, led the band offstage and trotted back moments later. A different enthusiastic fan was enlisted to introduce the final song, funk-rock prototype "I Against I." It was a move that would have seemed spontaneous and laid-back at another show, but here it seemed like H.R. just needed someone else to do his job for him. The house lights turned on an hour and ten minutes after they dimmed, but no one seemed too broken up about it.