Let me extol the praises of great live music. A great performance by extremely talented people can generate a cycle of reinforced euphoria that creates a shared experience that rivals anything that exists in human society. In other words, an amazing rock show can make you feel really great about life, and this feeling exhibited towards the performers allows them to share in the feeling, creating a feedback loop of exhilaration. OK, that's pretty much the best way I can describe it, and if you haven't experienced it, you're missing out on one of the grandest features of the modern life package. The Walkmen are a band that defies the stereotypical shelf life of traditional rock and roll bands - they keep getting better. Every time they come back to town, they're playing on the home field, so they've got the fans on their side - unstoppable and unrelenting from start to finish. Even when they don't play our favorite songs (like the one in today's program), I can still leave a show like Thursday's completely satisfied that I got everything they could give me. Sometimes a band might take it easy on hometown shows that are 'in the bag', but we all know that those are trap games, and the Walkmen come to play and bring their A-game. The five-piece of guitar, bass, drums, keys, and vocals are such a tight fit, they form like Voltron, with Hamilton Leithauser as the light-sword-lead-vocal-wielding head. The guy flat out has an amazing rock voice. I'll go out on a limb and say that he's got the best rock voice since Kurt Cobain, and is in good company with another of my absolute favorites, Britt Daniel of Spoon. These two bands are my torchbearers for rock and roll. Sure I'd love to have gone back in the heyday and seen Roger Daltrey and even Joe Cocker give their all-time scream-singing best, but for what it's worth, I am thankful to live in this era to be able to see these guys give it their all. It's goddamn inspiring.

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