On September 19th, 2009, Brooklyn Vegan posted that the Harlem Shakes had broken up. After waiting in vain for a Shake to make a post, that reports of their death had been greatly exaggerated, but it has since been sadly confirmed.
One of the earliest bands that QRO called, and one of our favorite amonst the many, many Brooklyn indie bands, we’ve followed Lexy Benaim (vocals), Todd Goldstein (guitar), Brent Katz (drums), Jose Soegaard (bass), & Kendrick Strauch (keyboards) since the early days of their first EP all the way up to what turned out to be their last-ever show. There were highs, there were lows, release parties, festivals, embarassing drunkenness (by QRO…), hiatuses, major medical operations, deaths, two great records & twelve great shows before it all came to an end:
First fell for the Shakes on the back of the excellent Burning Birthdays EP (QRO review) & caught the Manhattan EP release show (QRO live review) at Canal Room (maybe the only show that’s ever been worth seeing at Canal Room… – QRO venue review ) on February 1st, 2007. The table at the door had two ticket-purchasing options: “Shakes 2-Nite – $8; Shakes 4 Life – $12”: eight dollars to get in, twelve if you want the EP as well. QRO was 4-Life…
MP3 Stream: “Carpetbaggers”
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It was only a few months later that Shakes came back to New York, this time on tour with Tapes ‘n Tapes. They were supposed to play Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza (QRO venue review) on May 19th, but the day before, while still on tour, bassist Jose Soegaard got appendicitis & had to have an appendectomy in Canton, Ohio (from his hospital room you could see The Professional Football Hall of Fame).
But Jose still was able to only make it back to NYC the following day to play Mercury Lounge (QRO venue review) with fellow tourmates Ladyhawk (QRO photos) – and he & keyboardist Kendrick Strauch (see both in picture above) sat down for one of QRO’s longest – and best – interviews, still to-date! Oh, and they also rocked the house – with guest saxophonist David Kant.
Interview with Jose Soegaard & Kendrick Strauch, Pt. 1
Interview with Jose Soegaard & Kendrick Strauch, Pt. 2
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Just as 2007 had (almost) started with Harlem Shakes, it would end that way too, though this time as the meat in a Bowery Ballroom (QRO venue review) sandwich on December 13th, between headliners White Rabbits (QRO photos) & first openers The Subjects (QRO photos), two of the other great NYC finds of 2007. In a packed backstage, somewhere between interviewing White Rabbits’ Alex Even & Steve Patterson (QRO interview), hearing The Subjects’ story about losing a bet and having to play a live cover of Joan Osbourne’s “[What If God Was] One of Us”, and accidentally thinking Rabbits’ Greg Roberts was Lexy, managed to get a follow-up interview with Kendrick (QRO interview), who was the one under the weather this time (though Jose was 110%), but everyone there managed to rock the Bowery to close out 2007.
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And then… nothing. Well, not ‘nothing’, but the Shakes disappeared to make their first full-length, and the endeavour was fraught with delays, including health problems. Did run into Jose, Kendrick & Todd at a Sunset Rubdown show (QRO live review) at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (QRO venue review) thrown by their old management, Jelly NYC (best known for McCarren Park Pool Parties – QRO venue review – which Jose & Kendrick heavily lauded in their interview – see above), and heard Todd’s solo record, as ‘Arms’ (the band actually existed before Todd joined Shakes), Kids Aflame (QRO review).
Saw Todd again, this time as Arms (QRO photos), at Union Hall (QRO venue review), but after such a great 2007, 2008 was the year the Shakes went missing.
MP3 Stream: “Whirring“ (Arms)
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2009 threatened to be like 2008, seeing Todd as Arms in January (QRO photos), this time at Bell House (QRO venue review), but no Shakes – until Valentine’s Day. As part of Brooklyn Academy of Music’s ‘Sounds Like Brooklyn’ series, Harlem Shakes played their hometown (QRO live review), for the first time in over a year (since that Bowery show – see above), at Park Slope’s Southpaw (QRO venue review).
The show wasn’t perfect – band was still a little nervous with their new material, and the late-scheduled show was pushed even later when opener Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers (QRO photos) – she, late of Beat the Devil (QRO live review) – did an encore song, pushing the Shakes even later (may love the Shakes, but some of the bands they love, like Ms. Ray or Deerhoof – QRO photos on tour with Shakes – ? Not so much…). But Shakes were back, and that’s all you needed to know or could have wanted.
Harlem Shakes playing “Strictly Game” live @ Southpaw:
Harlem Shakes playing “Carpetbaggers” live @ Southpaw:
Harlem Shakes playing “Sickos” live @ Southpaw:
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And after the Shakes returned to NYC, they followed that up by (finally) putting out their full-length, Technicolor Health (QRO review). Named cheekily after the health problems that held back its production, Health somehow managed to not only live up to the high hopes for Harlem, but even exceed them! It might have only been March, but Health was already assured a spot on our list of ‘Top Records of 2009’ – or, as Lexy sang on “Strictly Game”, “This will be a better year”
MP3 Stream: “Radio Orlando”
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After all that Shake-y goodness, following the extended dry spell, ended up missing the Shakes when they opened for Bell X1 (QRO live review) at Highline Ballroom (QRO venue review) on March 14th (lazily arrived too late – they start ’em early at Highline…). But more, more than made up for that the following week – the week of SXSW (QRO recap).
On Day One (QRO recap), March 18th, caught the Shakes not once, but twice. First was Shakes’ first-ever SXSW appearance, during the day at Maggie Mae’s, which was easily one of the best performances of all of SXSW (and saw that Kant had come along for the ride).
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The show later that evening at The Paradise got delayed – everything had been running on time all day there, but the band before the Shakes, BLK JKS (QRO photos) took forever to set up. I was literally apopleptic with rage, angrier than the Shakes themselves, but they still put on a great show.
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On Day Two (QRO recap), tried to catch acts not seen on Day One, but by 1:00 AM, after two straight days, twenty-seven hours of music, closed out the night with the Shakes at Red 7 Patio. Big thing keeping me going on Day Two was the (mostly free) booze, leaving me pretty hammered by then. Started their show by sitting on & shooting from the lip of the stage, and knocked out the power cord to one of their amps! But Todd was just about as nice as you could be in letting me know, while he was fixing the situation.
Of course, I took advantage of that niceness to first make it to & shoot from the back of the stage, then hang out with the Shakes after the show, go to something afterwards with them. Eventually, their manager had to call me a cab to take me home from wherever we were, and that’s the last I remember of that night…
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One hell of a hangover nearly killed me on Day Three (QRO recap), and there was no Shakes that day. But in Day Four (QRO recap), most everyone was running on fumes, so decided not to see some new band flailing at 50%, but hit up the reliable Shakes one more time, and they still were giving it their all, even then.
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After four days of SXSW with four shows of Harlem Shakes, what was up less than a week later? Harlem Shakes, of course! It was the release party (QRO live review) for Technicolor Health, at Music Hall in Williamsburg (QRO venue review) on March 26th, and the boys had recovered from their first-ever SXSW. Backed up by not one, not two, but three horn players, plus guest female vocals from Julia Tepper of Frances (QRO photos), they played every single track from Health.
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February & March had been Shakes-a-licious, and April didn’t miss out when the Shakes threw a party at the Starr Space in Brooklyn on April 23rd, the gallery of the artist whose painting was the cover art to Technicolor Health. The place wasn’t ideal, and instead of lighting, the Shakes had a projection of A Christmas Story playing over them (and Todd stepped from the stage to my ear to ask me to stop using my flash – even though I’d paid my $8 that night…), but any Shakes is better than none.
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And the Shakes made up for that with a free show at Pianos (QRO venue review) the next month. Well, it was actually free because it was sponsored by daytime TV celeb Rachel Ray’s company, as she wanted the Shakes to draw the crowd for her husband’s terrible band, The Cringe (QRO photos). But hey, also finally got to meet Brooklyn Vegan in the flesh.
Harlem Shakes playing “TFO” live @ Pianos:
Harlem Shakes playing “Old Flames” live @ Pianos:
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But even with monthly shots of Shakes, still felt like they were getting further & further away (blamed that on the drunken impression I’d made at SXSW – see above…). So greeted their now-headlining slot at Bowery Ballroom on July 1st with much fanfare. It may have taken too long, but it looked like Harlem Shakes were finally blowing up like QRO always said they would.
Harlem Shakes playing “Nothing But Change” live @ Bowery Ballroom on July 1st, 2009:
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Too bad that night was their last show ever. The band semi-announced a hiatus after that night, dealing with their personal lives & what have you, and proceeded to disappear again. This wasn’t unprecedented, but then on September 19th, Brooklyn Vegan posted that the Shakes had broken up. Kept checking the post’s comments, not for the always-stupid commenters, but in the vain hope that someone from the Shakes would post a comment, disavowing their dissolution, but it wasn’t to be. Got the final confirmation from Todd at another Arms show (QRO photos) at Bell House.
There are still some embers from the Harlem flame, most notably Arms, whose Kids Aflame is getting a U.S. release on Shakes’ label, Gigantic. And Todd has put together a band that include Kendrick – plus Brent is making his own record.
But it’s really the end of an indie music love affair for QRO, like a summer romance that turns when the leaves do. Could curse the coming fall, try in vain to figure out what went wrong, or say we never really liked them that much anyway. But instead, just raise a glass of partially gelatinated non-dairy gum-based beverage & thank ’em for the memories…