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Despite the sweatbox-like atmosphere of the half-packed inside stage at Stubb's Wednesday, New Yorkers Elefant took the stage dressed for some other mod occasion - in layers, long sleeves, suits and, of course, lots of black.
After a local band of hippies opened (Ambulance Ltd. canceled for their appearance on David Letterman), Elefant made their dramatic entrance.
Everything about this band screams rock star - professionally presentable with lots of indie appeal. Lead singer Diego Garcia pranced around the stage like Morrissey, hissed like Robert Smith, crouched in front of the ladies in the front row and even posed for a picture with some audience members in the middle of a song.
With only one album under its belt, Elefant played from its album "Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid," sprinkling in some new songs. Consistency must be a virtue for the band, because the new songs sounded just like the old ones, holding just as much vitality but not daring to drift outside their line of attack. This approach has worked well for other bands (see The Strokes) and should stick true here, too.
Elefant has grown a lot since their last stint at Stubb's on Feb. 6. Overall, the band was more comfortable on stage, more energetic and definitely more interactive with the crowd. Drum solos allowed drummer Kevin McAdams to really show off what the album does not - his amazing talent. In fact, every band member sounded better live.
During a new song called "The Apology," Garcia snapped into full rock-star mode with a mic swing that almost took out two of his band members (not to mention some front-row noses) that could have given him that solo career he's probably always dreamt of. That could have been tragic.
After a failed request for all the lights to be turned off at the start of "Michelle," another new one, Garcia left the stage. Moments later, the lights turned off, and he returned. The band never missed a beat, and judging from the lack of surprise on their faces, Garcia has done this before.
Stubb's was notably different for this all-ages show. In accordance with the new smoking policy, the smoky air was now clear (except Garcia - who's gonna tell him to put it out?), and the normally nude Janis Joplin was now wearing a purple apron.
During the encore, Garcia sang about an obviously forgettable girl named Lola, eventually stopping due to all the lost lyrics. Elefant ended the night (now with the lights back on) with the title track from their album, shaking hands with fans before exiting, attracting plenty of female autograph-seekers with them.
After waiting for a super-excited fan to finish basking in Elefant's glory, I originally approached bassist Jeff Berrall with the intention of asking where there's room on the tour for the handsomely clad four-piece's outfits and shoes, but instead decided to ask about the new material, which, as it turns out, hasn't been recorded. In fact, "Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid" hasn't even been released in Europe yet, so there's step one, followed by a European tour that will inevitably draw a bigger support group for the band, and sometime in the future, recording the new material, probably for an EP, Berrall said.
With their growing success and buzz, next time Elefant comes through Austin, it might just be at the outdoor Stubb's stage.
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