Swear & Shake (@swearandshake) was full of smiles at The Studio at Webster Hall on Tuesday night as they opened for Radical Face (@radicalface). Kari Spieler and Adam McHeffey sang melodies as though they were having a conversation on stage, gazing pretty eagerly into each others’ eyes. Even people who may not have been fans of their mixture of pop rock and country couldn’t deny that they made the black walled venue a bit brighter and welcoming.
I knew I was in for a treat when Radical Face began setting up. There were a total of ten microphones on stage — enough for a full choir, which was exactly what they brought. Only having rehearsed once or twice with the band before the show (Radical Face has been singing with local choirs in each city), the additional voices filled the room with dark and desperate oo’s and ah’s in response to Ben Cooper’s lyrics.
The most entertaining and intriguing part of the show came when Cooper began explaining what each song meant before they were played, laughing about how depressing each one is. His tongue in cheek humor is reflected on stage and through his lyrics. “Six years later father died in the very same bedroom. Many said it was the grief that did it, I have to say it’s cause he hung himself.”
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