Drink Up Buttercup
Philly Locals Step Their Psychedelic Game Up
When I first saw Drink Up Buttercup over a year ago, I hadn’t had a thing to drink, it was raining on the Lower East Side, and I distinctly remember being pissed off about school, friends, or some other mundane and fleeting idiocy. I also remember being pompously appalled at the amount of ridiculous “equipment” the band brought out onto the stage. But, as it goes with most great things, the opening chords shattered the image of a band I’d already written off. What followed was 45 minutes of circus-psychedelia-infused-pop-rock. From their opener all the way to the closer – which featured a steel garbage can in the middle of the crowd being beaten by members of the audience and a healthy amount of confetti – Drink Up Buttercup put on a ridiculously fun show.
A year later, at Santos’ Party House (a venue known for showcasing everyone from the best up and comers to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs album release parties), what I first saw as a romp through Manhattan’s Lit Lounge, became a full-fledged, refined performance that somehow hadn’t lost any of the down-home “oomph” that performing in a basement automatically brings.
To try and truly define their sound would require an even longer hyphenated description than the one used above. Maybe that’s why so many people have taken the easy way out and spoken about Drink Up Buttercup as being reminiscent of The Beatles, a comparison which, when I brought it up to Ben, resulted in the phrase, “Um… fuck that.”
Maybe it’s the fact that they understand what a melody is and aren’t afraid to plunk one out in 4/4 time that brings these Beatles comparisons. Maybe it’s lyrics like those on “Mr. Pie Eyes” detailing a patron of a low-class bar in a high-class town, seemingly meaning nothing, but could be an allegory for the government or a social movement all the same as “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” One thing is certain though: When Drink Up Buttercup hit the stage with everything from steel trash cans to a theramin to a collection of baby heads, they are no clean-cut Brit foursome.
The band got its start outside of Philadelphia (where they still call home) with one idea in mind, according to James: “What can we do to get away from suburbia?” Again, an overwrought idea salvaged by the band who took this sentiment to mean, “We should probably start a band in a barn using carpentry tools, an heirloom oompah, and any sense of musicality we can muster.”
It’s this delicate balance of desperation and sheer musical talent that overfills during their live shows. With a group of guys who argue over which Radiohead album is the best and aren’t afraid to also admit to listening to Queens of the Stone Age, there becomes a distinct layer of back-and-forthing within the band. On record, though enigmatic and powerful, there’s an exactness that stems from perfectionism in the studio. On stage (this writer’s preferred form of consumption) the exactness boils over in all four members in varying ways. All at once, usually around the point that they play “Sosey and Dosey” (a major/minor chorded tune that is as much campfire singalong as it is acid-fueled straight-forward rock), the band explodes into something much more than their suburban roots, more than their niche in the Philly scene. With their debut album recorded and simply waiting to be mixed, keep an eye out for Drink Up Buttercup – one of the most entertaining acts romping around these days.
Check out Drink Up Buttercup all over the interwebs:
Myspace
Official web site
Facebook
Daytrotter
And watch for them on tour:
Posted by Mark Steffen on
Jun 18, 2009 @ 6:00 am
