Photos by Bobby Nicholas III
Sunflower Bean made last Thursday night’s show at The Warsaw in Brooklyn, announced as its only New York City performance of the year, count. From the tone-setting rocker opener “Champagne Taste” to a lengthy encore in which the band and support act Gift played a cathartic version of David Bowie’s “Heroes” together, the set was a proper celebration of a band with more than a decade of NYC history under its belt and a new album out that might be its best yet.
The primary focus for the trio — Julia Cumming (vocals, bass), Nick Kivlen (guitar, vocals) and Olive Faber (drums) — was the brand new LP, “Mortal Primetime,” and highlights from the album on Thursday included the aforementioned “Champagne Taste,” the airy “There’s a Part I Can’t Get Back” and “Nothing Romantic,” a soaring, Queen-meets-Heart anthem. Older tunes, such as fan favorite “Twenty-two”, got some run, as did the set-ending “Shake,” a pure blast of metal from last year’s EP of the same name.
Thursday’s performance was an exercise in rock star domination, with Cumming stalking the stage in a flowing top, high-heel boots and nothing much in the way of pants, and Kivlen in a sheer top shredding guitar solos that would be right at home during the many heavy metal shows at the Greenpoint venue.
The perfectly selected opening acts and a speech by mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani added to the evening’s distinctly New York flavor. Brooklyn’s genre-jumping art rock group Birthday Girl was up first with a set of attractive songs that outdid their recorded versions. Also from Brooklyn, the touring direct support band Gift offered a modernized and propellant take on shoegaze and synth pop that was equal parts disorienting and energetic.
Sunflower Bean’s “Mortal Primetime” tour with Gift continues Wednesday night in Atlanta, with dates in the south, west, Pacific Northwest and Midwest before ending in Toronto on June 21.
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