PaperMag.com Semi Precious Weapons & Shiny Toy Guns Blog Post

“It’s like Sesame Street!” is perhaps the last thing you expect to hear come out of Justin Tranter’s mouth. Lead singer of Semi Precious Weapons, Tranter is more of a Triple X kind of guy. Mind you, his hilariously incongruous statement, accompanied by a casual shrug, followed his insistent but adorable demand that everyone at Webster Hall had better scream at the top of their lungs, “That’s kunt!” Really?Is it like Sesame Street? Did I miss an episode? Was I preoccupied with Captain Kangaroo, or Mr. Rogersmaybe? Jesus. For the record, Tranter has told us in the past that Kunt (spelled with a K) translates to a cross between “…awesome and daring…”

The high-heeled-boots-sporting, platinum blond bombshell belted it out and left little to the imagination last night as he let loose beneath the colorful flashing lights of the newly renovated Webster Hall. Tranter literally bent over backwards, crawled on his hands and knees, showed off his high kicks (high kicks that rival those of even the most flexible Rockette) and slowed down only once, to lock lips with an underage strumpet humping the stage. Needless to say, their set shaped up to be another routine SPW performance (note: this is a compliment, not a criticism) and a typical day in the life of New York’s very own J.T. (If you think he doesn’t do high kicks on his own at home…)

Tranter made explicit the fact that no show should be taken too seriously; at one point he even put guitarist Stevy Pyne in a chokehold, pummeling him to the ground and wrestling with him for a good minute or two, all the while Pyne continued to strum as Tranter sang. All in good fun. Lovingly attacking Pyne has supposedly become ritual for Tranter, the badass band equivalent to the playground bully/pipsqueak scenario.

The Midwestern-born beauty (he’s originally from a suburb of Chicago) proves perpetually appealing. What might otherwise be considered crass comes across as charming when exiting Tranter’s lips. “Do you like my shoes? Do you like my face? Shut up.”

As for songs, SPW performed eight tracks, including two new numbers. SPW showcased both “Put A Diamond In It and Bite Down,” which Tranter tells me is “the greatest song of all time,” (fans seemed to agree) and “Blond.” The latter features a line that goes: “The whole world has gone blond since they turned my mic on.” Drummer Dan Crean, wearing a torn up tee hit his heart out, his stunning upper body glistening in the concert hall glow. Let’s just say the live venue suits him. Cole Whittle, the schizo bassist, went wild as usual, instrument held high above head and intermittently break-dancing. This was my first experience where Pyne performed rather than former member Aaron Lee Tasjan (admittedly, it’s been too long since I’ve seen SPW) and, I must confess, I was taken aback by his execution. Impressive as anything, Pyne was seriously on point. But what’s with the wig?

As for Shiny Toy Guns, they put on a stellar show as well. The floor shook as they sang, vibrating beneath our feet. The pulsating current of energy contributed to the overall aura (that and the fog machine), bringing the evening full circle. The young woman standing in front of me showed her love by forming a heart shape with her baby-blue-polished fingers. My date reacted differently to their sound: “They can't figure out if they want to be The Killers or Muse, but they should be trying to be Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees and just let the girl sing.” He said this with a lighthearted laugh, but clearly I was significantly more smitten. I was just pumped they played “Don’t Cry Out,” off their debut album We Are Pilots from 2005.

Photos by Roger Kisby