“Have you heard the joke about a pilot, a coffee and a blow job?” This was Zookeeper singer Chris Simpson’s segueway into a lively performance of “Everyone’s a DJ” at Thursday’s Pianos show. For a moment I was confused: did he just awkwardly associate DJs with BJs? I suppose I heard what I wanted to hear. BJs aside, the Austin-based boys of Zookeeper played a short set of solid, upbeat rock, occasionally downplaying the jangle with a dash of Western-influenced emoting.
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Zookeeper’s debut full-length album, Becoming All Things, is an anxious jumble of barn-raising knee slaps and indie rock sensibilities, with Simpson warbling in a slightly off-kilter pitch. It’s a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n roll, and a whole lot of PBR. However, I would be wary of labeling Zookeeper an “alt-country” band, as songs like “Snow in Berlin” and the “Ballad of My Friends” employ less twang and more wrangle, reaching choral octaves that would probably satisfy fans of Okkervil River moreso than fans of Ryan Adams. There are also remnants of Simpson’s previous musical projects, like the heavy-lid emo sound of Mineral; but where the former opted for brooding, Zookeeper seems more concerned with rousing a physical response. Simpson still preserves his talent at spinning a melancholic phrase (“And his eyes screaming for a soul to see him”), but backed by a buoyant rhythm, the result is not as dreadfully self-pitying as straightforward emo rock.
As with most bars on the Lower East Side, the backroom venue promoted fast friendship-making, with low ceilings and a few tables pushed against the walls. Zookeeper played hard with no frills, stressing the tiny sound system and threatening to, literally, bring down the house. There was little audience banter (besides the aforementioned BJ joke) as the band concentrated on packing as much oomph into their set as possible. When a few zealous fans chanted “encore,” Simpson obliged, although he jokingly requested approval from the higher forces “in charge.”
For more information on Zookeeper, visit their Myspace page at www.myspace.com/zookeepersworld, or their official, yet somewhat cryptic, website: www.zookeepersworld.com.
-Lara
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