The London four-piece known as Klaxons ended their US tour with a fantastic performance at New York City’s Webster Hall. “This is the last night of being in America, and it makes us very sad,” announced bassist Jamie Reynolds.

Klaxons have at times described their sound, with its chaotic yet melodic mix of guitars, synthesizers and beats, as “neu rave” and “fantastical psychedelic pop”. (The term “new rave” caught on with the British press, who now seem to apply it to every new band with a mix of guitars and synths.) They were the surprise winners of the UK’s 2007 Mercury Prize Award, beating out such contenders as The New Young Pony Club, Bat For Lashes and Amy Winehouse.

The band performed their entire album Myths of the Near Future, including all of their singles and a couple of b-sides in the 13-song set. They opened with a b-side, “The Bouncer”, which was followed by the single “Atlantis To Interzone”. Of course, the crowd went especially wild during the hits, singing along loudly to the chorus during “Golden Skans” and moshing it up during “Gravity’s Rainbow”. Also included were “Magick” and “It’s Not Over Yet”, the latter a cover of the late 1990′s club hit by the Oakenfold project Grace. “Forgotten Works” was amusingly prefaced by Jamie as “the song that everyone in England hates”.

The band dotted their set with brilliant harmonies by Jamie and keyboardist/lead singer James Righton. The two also traded bass and keyboards on several songs, and rounded out the band with guitarist Simon Taylor, who also contributed keyboard parts, and drummer Steffan Halperin.

Leave it to Klaxons to turn Webster Hall into a throng filled with dancing, ecstatic fans, many of them waving (and at times, throwing) glow sticks. James didn’t seem too amused when one of the glow sticks ended up on stage. He picked it up and said “What’s this?” Since glow sticks are popular with their fans all over, it was hard to tell if he was serious or just straight-faced joking.

Klaxons always find time for their own onstage amusements. Jamie remarked, “It’s been our absolute fucking pleasure, and you’ve been incredible as usual – we love you New York”. They ended the show with a one-song encore, “The Four Horsemen of 2012” and with Jamie adding it’s “a fucking perfect way to end our time in America”.

The Washington DC-based band, The Apes, were the opening act, fittingly. And what’s a show without a little bit of rock star spotting? Mark Hamilton and Tim Wheeler from Ash were seen in the audience (in the U.S. during a break from their massive European tour), among quite a few more.–Teresa Sampson/photos by Tear-n Tan

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