Trail of Dead @ Luna Lounge, 8/2/07

My first trip out to the relatively new Luna Lounge. I'm assuming they are not affiliated with any of the big booking agencies in NYC (Bowery Presents, Live Nation, etc.) because their calendar of bands contains relatively obscure names (to me, at least). It's a shame, really, because the venue is outstanding; Trail of Dead chose wisely (sans booking agency) when scheduling a tune-up show before their European tour - and first with the new drummer.

Shock Cinema took way too long to take the stage and when they finally did, what I witnessed was a blatant Yeah Yeah Yeahs rip-off. A surprisingly sober, Trail of Dead came on at 11:30 and played a 75 minute set. I'm biased of course but I thought it was an awesome show, and despite the glaring omission of "How Near, How Far," (seriously, how can they not play this song?) it was a better performance than their previous Irving Plaza show. Fans know not to expect great vocals but the band was incredibly tight and by their standards, actually pretty mellow. Ah...old age. The new drummer was solid. He handed over the main kit to Jason Reece for a couple songs and the band still used two drum kits for several others. Below is my attempt at the set list, although I think I'm missing a couple songs. In no particular order:

"Ode to Isis"
"Fake Fake Eyes"
"All White" (?)
"Stand in Silence"
"Naked Sun" (first play)
"Rest Will Follow"
"Relative Ways"
"Let it Dive"
"It Was There That I Saw You"
"Heart in the Hand of Matter" (?)
"Caterwaul"
"Will You Smile Again"
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"Clair De Lune"