“True Shred Guitar”: Sleigh Bells sweep the House of Blues

Brooklyn noise-pop-dance-punk-rhythmic (okay, let’s be real, label-defying) duo Sleigh Balls nearly shook the House of Blues down last night with a wall of sound and frenzied beats that I didn’t exactly know how to dance to, but I couldn’t help myself. Singer Alexis Krauss would stop at nothing until the entire crowd was whipped into a flailing mob, jumping and clapping and stage-diving her way through the band’s stadium-esque anthems, many of which came from their undeniably catchy new album, Reign of Terror.

It was hard to believe that Krauss was teaching elementary school Spanish to children in the Bronx less than a decade ago as she screamed into the microphone, “Dumb whores, best friends” on the band’s powerhouse of a dance-rock anthem, “Infinity Guitars.” It was also hard to believe that Krauss and Miller were backed by only one other guitarist and a drum machine emitting their trademark gunshot-like beats into the audience.

“Infinity Guitars,” along with other standouts off Reign of Terror like “Comeback Kid” and “Demons”, seemed to speak to an evolution of the band’s sound, featuring more fleshed-out melodies and bigger choruses, yet the band still ripped through old favorites like “Tell ‘Em” and “Rill Rill” with a voracious energy.

Sleigh Bells’ live performances have been called into question before, especially after appearing on late-night television spots like Saturday Night Live, and yes, perhaps the integrity of the sound live falls a little short in maturity compared to their recorded albums. Yes, Alexis Krauss’s voice may not carry as much weight without the album’s vocal backings. However, there is something to be said for stirring up a crowd and then slamming them with noise, an art at which Krauss and Miller are masters.

As they spat and kicked and rumbled their way through infectious hit “Crown on the Ground” off of 2010’s Treats, the House of Blues lit up with a kind of energy rarely seen in many rock shows today. In the age of indie where hushed and heartbreaking Iron & Wine, homespun feel-good folk whisperers Fleet Foxes and boniverotica.tumblr.com blaze the trail, it can be refreshingly dramatic to find one’s ears melted off from a solid electric guitar riff and some sweet gunshot noises. One thing I’ve noticed at many shows I’ve been to recently is how acceptable it’s becoming to stand in the crowd, swaying to the musically and quietly apologizing for brushing anyone’s shoulder. Luckily, this kind of behavior seemed strictly abhorred at Sleigh Bells, elbow-throwing and fist-pumping spurred by Krauss’s shouts of “Fckin’ everybody in the house better be dancing on this one.” Don’t worry, Alexis, fcking everybody couldn’t help themselves.