Car Seat Headrest Keeps Its Eyes on the Road at Live on the Green

The second week of the 10th installment of radio station Lightning 100's annual free downtown concert series Live on the Green put its emphasis on indie rock, or what's left of the meaning in that ever-vague term. Those who made it down to Public Square Park for the fest Thursday night, The Spin included, were treated to four sets. Two came out decent-to-great, the other two forgettable-to-bad.

First, the good. Car Seat Headrest — the decidedly uncool or not-remotely rock ’n’ roll nom-de-plume of 25-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist Will Toledo — made the road from Bandcamp anonymity to modern-rock radio familiarity look a lot shorter than it is. For a loud guitar band to have legit radio hits in 2018 is kind of a feat in itself. But the lanky, aloofly fashionable Virginia native and his five-piece band don't seem like the types to be too impressed by their own achievements.

Up front, a lot of fans around Toledo's age were mad for it. We saw more than one group of kids conga-lining through the audience during CSR’s undeniable ’16 breakthrough single “Fill in the Blank,” shouting along to its rallying cry “You have no right to be depressed!” But we also overheard a few older concertgoers further back not buying into Toledo's anti-rocker vibe, wondering aloud why the guy can't bother to enunciate his lyrics or even let us know what his band is called.

For those picking up what Toledo was putting down though, the set was as intriguing as it was unorthodox. The sight of an auxiliary drummer — a new addition to the band — piqued our curiosity, and we're still not sure he's entirely necessary. (We assume he must be a great guy to have around, a là Pavement's Bob Nastanovich.) But he did help give the opening song “Vincent” a certain propulsive gait reminiscent of Ride's soulful 1990 shoegaze classic “Seagull,” starting up quiet, grooving hard and earning its eventual fuzzed-out payoff.

And while we can't claim to be super-well-versed in Toledo's eight-million-album Bandcamp oeuvre, it's obvious why the Strokes-y “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales,” played late in the set to an emphatic reception, is his biggest hit and calling card thus far. Our only real question is why they didn't book these guys on the same night as Parquet Courts, playing next week — a similarly lo-fi punkish thing that's taken on a funkier dimension as it's gone on.

Locals *repeat repeat, who kicked things off a couple hours earlier, brought diverse, fun and energetic sounds to those fortunate enough to be off at half-past five on a Thursday to commence rocking. We dug the group’s Bonnaroo final-day side-stage set back in June, so we made a point to get down there in time to catch this one. The brainchild of married bandleaders Jared and Kristyn Corder, the group began at a brisk, uptempo pace, with the New Wave-y “Ghost” (from last year’s Floral Canyon) a tight, snappy standout. As the set progressed, they opened up a little for some Black Keys-ian stomp, marking them as an altogether formidable rock band with energy and charm to spare.

As for the rest, Colony House’s set came in the middle of the evening. They are a local band, but we'd believe you if you told us that a New American restaurant by that name was opening in a gentrifying neighborhood. (They did name themselves after an apartment complex.) And they delivered paint-by-numbers background-y tunes tailor-made for car commercials. They came complete with a tearjerker acoustic ballad recalling Candlebox and closed, naturally, with a song utilizing the nagging, ubiquitous “millennial whoop.”

Headliners Cold War Kids came from a pretty similar place. Where Car Seat's set gave us a snapshot of a good band getting better, CWK, with its mix of Coldplay-like piano bombast and vague Passion Pit/MGMT danciness, felt like pure nostalgia for a time (the late Aughts, specifically) without a signature sound. There were hits like 2006's “Hang Me Up to Dry,” to newer songs, including one dedicated to the late Aretha Franklin.

In the end, it’s a decent hit percentage for a free event that’s aiming to please a crowd of thousands. All the same, there’s a wealth of talent that’s super fun and engaging and also leaves more of an impression — see A Giant Dog, who played Third Man on Thursday, or acts like Jessica Lea Mayfield or Natalie Prass who played this summer’s Musicians Corner series. Bring us more risk-takers! We can handle it.

See our slideshow for more photos.

In The Spin — the Scene's live review column — staffers and freelance contributors review concerts under a collective byline.