After a disappointing turnout the last time I was at the End, it seemed like a completely different venue for Sunday night’s Bad Cop show. Hipsters and a few people who really wanted to be hipsters crowded around the stage to see the dynamic performance of rock trio Bad Cop. The band was charismatic and high-energy as frontman Adam Moult played off guitarist Mikey Owen and drummer Michael Frazier throughout the show, and had the audience captivated with his Iggy Pop-like engagement of the crowd. They opened with “Sail Away,” and kept it heavy on the guitar and drums from then on.
Bad Cop’s frontman just looks like he’s going to be famous. I don’t know if it’s the Julian Casablancas (The Strokes) energy he gives off, or just that he has a stellar stage presence, but he’s got the charisma that belongs in rock music. His voice was malleable to each song they played, and was even enough that you could actually make out the lyrics.
The crowd was upbeat throughout the show and the sunglasses-clad drummer seemed to be having as much fun as they were as he played the band’s single, “Daylight”. This is the song where they sound strikingly similar to the aforementioned Strokes. The most notable difference is Bad Cop has a harder sound, while still keeping the danceable riffs and vocals.
Bad Cop has changed two of the three members in the past few weeks, leaving only the frontman the same. That made for a disappointingly short set of only six songs, during which the band meshed well, considering they had to adapt to each other’s styles so quickly.
I’m not saying I don’t appreciate a good singer-songwriter’s tear-fest or a new-age punk revival band, but there’s nothing that beats a good rock show. One where the musicians actually perform instead of just mimicking a bad music video on VH1. Bad Cop definitely delivers the former of the two extremes with a presence and energy like early Rolling Stones sans the heroin addictions. – Krystal Wallace