VHS OR BETA WITH WALTED MEEGO
AUGUST 30, 2007
STUDIO B, BROOKLYN
WORDS: CAMERON COOK
PHOTOS: ABBEY BRADEN

When I die and go to heaven, I know what God has in store for me. I'm going to rise up, a celestial being encased in a holy aura, alight gently upon a fluffy cloud, crank Walter Meego up to 11 on Jesus' iTunes and passionately make out with every member of the band for all eternity. That's how good their set was.

I knew little about Walter Meego until they took the stage opening for VHS or Beta at Brooklyn's Studio B. My knowledge of the trio was limited to: they're from Chiacgo, they play some variant of electro, and favored dance blogs such as Bigstereo and Missingtoof love them. As Cyndi Lauper once said, good enough for me. But nothing prepared me for the onslaught of awesome that was heaved upon the audience as the three sweaty, gangly WM kids (Justin Sconza on vocals, keyboards and guitar; Colin Yarck on the decks, and Andrew Bernhardt on guitars) tore shit apart with their pulsating, frenetic brand of dance punk. And when I say dance punk, I don't mean watered-down Gang-of-Four-lameness in skinny jeans, I'm talking raving until your feet swell and all you can do is yell. "Through The Keyhole" seems to be Walter's signature track, but if there is any justice in this world, "Girls" and "Lost" will soon be as inescapable as global warming. "Lost"'s headbanging beat is a perfect example of quintessential dance music, and when a band get so excited to play a song they literally fall over their own instruments, you can only help but clutch your hand to your chest and feel your heart melt. Say hello to your new favorite band.

Unfortunately, while VHS or Beta's performance was as tight as possible, they were absolutely plagued with technical difficulties, forcing them to cut their set several songs short. Those that did get played were thoroughly enjoyable though: new single "Can't Believe A Single Word" is so unabashedly pop it smarts, and while the entire new album puts an American-post-Milennium spin on XTC and Alan Partridge, golden oldies such as "Night on Fire" shone through. The crowd lapped up every last drop, and frontman Craig Pfunder was complately and utterly charming, even when things were getting kind of hairy on the technical side, even launching into an improvised, solo version of Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now". A solid set from a solid band.