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Written by Kristyn Potter Tuesday, 15 October 2013 21:06

A somewhat aimless walk down Grand, landed us into what would go down in hipster heaven history of musician transcendence.

I'm not a fan of superlatives. But seeing Bent Knee at Trash Bar was one of the best moments of live music I have ever personally experienced. There have been the rad shows in London or EDM-centric spots in Ibiza, but upon true happenstance, an otherwise slow night in Williamsburg, through a somewhat aimless walk down Grand, landed us into what would go down in hipster heaven history of musician transcendence.

The lead singer Courtney Swain is a Broadway star in our eyes — catapulting the audience into somewhat of a Tristan and Isolde opera; her bassist calms her, her half-naked drummer moves her, her guitarist to her right motivates her, and her violinist strumming away with his hands completes her; and then there’s the sound designer on the stage floor who I think may have been on Facebook.

The lyrics aren't immature and their sound is terrifying, emotionally gratifying, and moving. Unexpected is what you expect when you watch Bent Knee go from a cacophonous sound check to literally swaying the crowd in tumultuous fervor. We don't love them, we love the way they make us feel. Small town band from Boston playing in New York City, they may not have made the CMJ 2013 lineup, but in my eyes they already made it (they also played last year’s music marathon). Their sound is angsty and cool. There is nothing counterfeit about this band, and with a multitude of same shit different venue, I leave this show knowing that, no, I'm not as jaded as I had expected. Sadly, their recordings on Bandcamp don’t compare at all to the live show, but in my Sunday night in New York City experience, Bent Knee owned random ass bar in Williamsburg. Take your bow. | Kristyn Potter  

Photo: Kathryn Bilinski