Secret Carrboro Ninja Patrol: Show Review: The Love Language

The Cat's Cradle, Carrboro
January 24, 2009

The Cradle was cooking expectations Saturday night and its allure drew cats by the droves. Stirring the pot was a double-take worthy line up of The Rosebuds, Megafaun, and The Love Language. Sipping the intoxicating brew were wall-to-wall wide eyes and hot white smiling teeth. The show marked the end-leg and home coming celebration for The Love Language's January road tripping jaunt alongside The Rosebuds where they took stages in exotic places and kept the hearts and minds that they found there.

The road led them through such venues as NYC's Bowery Ball room, Daytrotter studios, and DC's Bohemian Caverns before leading them back home to Carrboro's The Cat's Cradle on Saturday night. A solid half hour before The Love Language stepped on, room at the stage was already packed fifteen bodies deep and a dull roar of laughs and conversations illuminated the room. As their set began, I took my place center middle and starting ripping off pics as front man Stu McLamb ripped up the strings of is blood red hollow body guitar. The sure-footed cadence and parade of their performance was notably seasoned with the confidence of a meaningful tour. This was The Love Language enjoying the fruit of their three-year long laborious campaign to be heard and adored, and it was a heavy plate of adorers there to soak in the warm sound and hear it shine.

The merch stand peddled their first album which has a Feb 10 official release date but a the half-dozen pen-and-ink decorated home grown CR-r's I've collected at their shows over the past two years prove that this is a band that owns their art and practice it on their own terms. So many have tried pinning down their sound in effort to categorize it into a genre. The Beatles, Thin Lizzy, Guided by Voices, and Arcade Fire have been tossed on the table. How about Supergrass? Now we have a comparison from each of the last five decades of rock and roll. Instead of relating this music to another, I rather believe that what we heard last Saturday was originality in excess. This is a group of artists that are living their music and pumping it through the speakers exactly as they hear it in their head. From the liquid thought-from-concentrate writings of keyboardist Missy Thang's blogging to the kitchen tie-dyed shirt making factory in their house and the spray painted paper bag goodie bag they handed out when there were far less people in the audience, the creativity of this group expands beyond their music, and it contracts around your heart.

So with a roller-coaster road trip hanging from the belt, a March SXSW stage in their cross-hairs, and the local pubs and blogs buzzing, The Love Language just may well become the next bright shiny polished art-work delivered from the talent-rich Raleigh/Durham/ChCa (tm) music culture into the world's indie music galleria. You are welcome world, enjoy responsibly.

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Since The Love Language's current distribution deal is exclusive with Samsonite, your options for attaining their self titled release is a) go to a show, or b) follow instructions found on New Raleigh.