The air conditioning inside the Satellite may have been turned to the arctic setting on Saturday night, but I didn’t freeze for very long. As soon as Outernational took the stage, the energy went through the roof and the room was on fire till the end of their set.
Experiencing an Outernational show – and attempting the impossible task to take notes and pictures during it – is like realizing you will never be able to catch the quicksilver, you think you have figured out the song and a cool photo op, and a fraction second later everybody on stage has moved, they are playing the next song and you simply can’t keep up with the cadence.
Did I say energy? The Brooklyn band had plenty of it and didn’t let anybody breathe a second during the release party for their new EP ‘Future Rock’, playing song after song with the same passion and fire in the belly. This is a group of people who live through what they believe, the revolution through music, and they are fighting with every fiber of their bodies to demonstrate it.
Each of them shows the same dynamism, but this is especially true of frontman Miles Solay who didn’t stay a second still, bouncing everywhere as if he were on a permanent trampoline, addressing and haranguing the crowd about his revolution through rock like a mad preacher – although I am not sure he would approve the term – fiercely squinting his eyes and moving his fists as if he was constantly playing air drums… With his skinny jeans, his layers of clothes he removed one by one during the excitation of the show (revealing a cool Revolution Rock tee-shirt), Solay exudes a real charisma when he speaks up with his bold-angry tone to explain his mission. He is probably tired of all these comparisons with the Clash’s frontman,… or probably not as he has cited The Clash's ability to inject 'psychic soul and heart and meaning' into their songs, and I imagine him totally venerate Strummer. I have never seen the Clash live (but it is totally fitting that this review is posted the day of Strummer’s 60th birthday) but I could tell that Outernational has what it takes to embody this sort of energy channeling hope, change and sense of duty.
‘We went to the borderline seven times this year’, Miles Solay said toward the end of the show, saying they had met lots of people who had inspired them, just before dedicating their ‘Fighting Song’ to the ‘next generation of fighters and dreamers’, a song certainly on a mission to change the world.
There is actually little need for an explanation, lyrics like ‘I’m reelin’ and I’m rockin’ / And I’m ready to go / Its one for the barricades / And two for your hopes / Worldwide revolution’, or ‘I see your empty lives/ I’m on a mission with horizon eyes / Empty lives in the United States / Like a religion I’m shaking the faith’, are totally self-explanatory, but in these uncertain times which see right-wing Paul Ryan declaring his love for Rage Against The Machine, you are never too careful. Talking about RATM, Tom Morello, who produced the EP, was in the house, as well as producer Thom Russo and, in a totally cool manner, they hang around with fans after the show. And if you needed more celebrity guests, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith took control of the drums during a few explosive songs, as well as the fierce ‘Underground’ which sounded a little bit like a Pogues song with lyrics so appropriately talking about ‘restless youth’.
Their dynamic rhythms and riffs were assured by Jesse Williams Massa’s mean bass, Nate Hassan/Chad Smith’s bursting drumming and Leo Mintek’s RATM-inspired guitar, but they were also mixing all kinds of genres of music, and although they were lighter on their ‘Todos Somos Ilegales’ songs this time, and played their ‘Future Rock’ songs (‘Future Rock’, ‘One For the Airwaves’, ‘Empty Lives’, ‘Sir, No Sir’), there were still some Latin influences. The interesting and abundant use of the trumpet or accordion, thanks to Dr. Blum’s talent, was balancing the hard-rock riffs, and Miles Solay’s in-your-face delivery, sometimes going into rap mode. He dedicated their Spanglish song ‘Que Queremos’ to the bands which had opened the show, Los Hollywood and Las Cafeteras, whose members were visibly big fans and turned the end of the show into a steamy bouncing-dance party.
The band had to come back for an encore with ‘Sir, No Sir’ and another song, but didn’t disappear behind the stage curtain when all was over. Rather, Miles gave high-fives to the crowd and the whole band stayed to hang around with fans and give a few hugs. Because it may be what matters the most for them, giving all they have on stage while delivering their aggressive message of indignation, restoring anger in rock’ n’ roll, promoting their social-revolution-through-music, but also having this sincere human interaction with people afterward.
