Harvey Danger preview

Harvey Danger
Schubas, Chicago
Saturday, September 30, 2006

Harvey Danger have been around for 12 years, in the public eye for nine. During that span, they’ve released a grand total of three albums. While that’s not exactly the snails pace of Boston, it’s hardly indicitive of the alt-rock ethos around when they briefly rose to prominence.

Since “Flagpole Sitta” crashed MTV in the Marcy Playground/Third Eye Blind/Tonic/Verve Pipe era, little has been written or said about them. The followup to Where Have All The Merrymakers Gone?, King James Version, was basically a tax write-off for Sire. It was released nearly three years after the debut, and by then the pop landscape was gearing into OutKast, U2’s resurgence, the battle over Kid A, and the seedlings of the Strokes/White Stripes/Hives garage revolution. Frustrated, Harvey Danger went on “hiatus” in 2001, but returned to the studio to begin working on Little By Little . . .

Originally released as a free download in 2005, Kill Rock Stars (of all labels) is repackaging it with a second disc of bonus tracks in time for this tour. While no one will argue Harvey Danger pulled a Nada Surf and lit a grease fire under themselves, Little bears no resemblance to “Flagpole Sitta” and the tough-dork promo shots of their past. Not completely remarkable, the album’s a roar through power pop inspiration and is kind of British in its inflection. Tracks like “Cream And Bastards Rise,” piano-based “Happiness Writes White,” and “Picture, Picture” still retain Sean Nelson’s slacker lyrics with a Ben Foldsy pomp. The more things change . . .

So Many Dynamos and Probably Vampires open.

— Steve Forstneger

Click here to download “Cream And Bastards Rise.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly