Krief at the Bowery Electric

Based out of Montreal, Canada, Patrick Krief, the guitarist with the alternative rock band the Dears since 2004, has juggled two other musical projects, Black Diamond Bay and Krief, on and off since 2007. The 32-year-old singer/songwriter recently released his third album away from the Dears, A Hundred Thousand Pieces, and is promoting it on a concert tour, where Krief the man has morphed into Krief the band.

At the Bowery Electric tonight, with a week-old beard, an open-chested white shirt with rolled-up sleeves, jeans and a vest, Krief the man looked to be carrying on the working class legacy of Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. His performance suggested that his is an equally intense persona. His lyrics were soul searching and his time signatures and musical arrangements were more complicated than the average indie band. Although the vocal delivery was quite different, Krief performed his songs similar to how Neil Young has been done for decades; one the one hand, Krief the man sounded like he was desperately pleading for someone to commiserate with the seemingly dark conflict of his anxious lyrics, but then he would drop the hammer on your face with hard rocking music from Krief the band. Krief’s performance was more left of center than what Young does, however, and at this stage, more experimental. With the right exposure, Krief has the potential to empower a community of wounded rock fans on a quest to unravel complications in the lyrics of life.