Walter TV’s Mohawk Pizza Party: Live Review

Posted by Laney Renee on October 14, 2014 in BLOG, FEATURES, LIVE MUSIC · 0 Comments

Photo by Laney Renee

Walter TV has been coined “Mac Demarco’s touring band,” “Mac Demarco’s friend’s band,” and “Mac Demarco’s side project.” These pseudonyms aren’t a far cry from the truth, but only if you’re comparing the bandmates themselves. In fact, the original Walter TV crew formed sans DeMarco in 2010 comprised of Pierce McGarry (lead vocals and guitar), Joe McMurray (drums), and Simon Ankenman (bass), which predates the Viceroy love ballads. In Montreal circa 2011, Pierce and Joe moved in with Mac and the band recorded their debut album, APPETITE. Early this summer, Walter TV signed with Sinderlyn Records to re-release the album on vinyl. I was able to correspond with the band, and they touch on their experience with this new record label in an interview you can read here.

Photo by Laney Renee

These days, Mac performs part-time with the band. On October 11, The Mohawk showcased the combined efforts of the entire gang. The original three amigos took to the stage of a sold-out audience, while Mac showed off his diversified skill set as fog machine technician. The set list ran shy on time only lasting 5 songs, but the man-child shenanigans managed to run rampant. The talent of Walter TV doesn’t just lie in the creative renderings of layered musical experimentation–the stage presence is something worth experiencing.

Photo by Laney Renee

I can throw a vinyl on my Technics, while sprawled in my underwear gorging on bourbon and potato chips and gage a band’s sound both effectively and comfortably. What I can’t experience in my living room is the reason I go to live shows. The immaturity of these boys is contagious, and I mean that in the most complimentary way imaginable. At the ripe old age of 28, I’m thrown into the category of, dare I say, “young professional.” The disdain I hold for this term is equilateral to “stay-cation” or “day drinking.” In years more recent, when I attend an all-ages show, I’m well outside the standard deviation of the average age of attendees (and even performers). I’ve certainly loathed some shows based on these statistics, but not with these boys. They bring out the best in everyone. The generational gap is blurred as you cackle over fart and penis jokes, share a Domino’s pizza slice with your audience neighbor as it’s tossed from the stage, and if you’re lucky, glimpse a full frontal view of Mac himself.

Photo by Laney Renee

This was my first time seeing Walter TV, but it was my fifth time watching these chuckleheads perform regardless of the band name. With each show, I’ve come away with a hilariously immature adventure to tell my friends the next day. Every story is variable, but the controls that never waver are as followed: late night (or early morning), new friends (debatable if the friendship endures past the evening), and a wicked hangover (both the emotional and alcohol induced), and this time around was no different. Often regretful, but never boring is this trifecta of YOLO decisions that ironically make up the spice of life. I’ve relinquished a tangent on you that perhaps delineates farther from a musical description than I anticipated, but it’s what keeps this band buzz worthy and rightfully so.

Photo by Laney Renee

With all being said, lest we forget the wise adage of Lavar Burton: “You don’t have to take my word for it.” Watch Walter TV’s music video for Puka Shell Necklace (created and directed by band member, Peirce McGarry) here. While you’re at it, follow the Instagram accounts of these clowns to gage for yourself the brilliant antics that are intertwined to a degree that never overshadows and only compliments the talent of the music.