Never mind the bollocks! ‘Ehre’s Robbers on High Street

Posted on July 11, 2007 by

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Who knows why I thought Robbers on High Street were from England. I went on their Myspace page, saw Brooklyn … and thought, oh they must’ve moved there.

Maybe it’s their name (I mean, do you say, “A robber stole Tuc’s wallet on my birthday?” No.), or maybe it’s the band’s Kinks-ish sounding songs. Or the fact that their single off “Grand Animals,” out on July 24, has the word “Victoria” in the title (as in, queen).

I don’t know what it is, but I saw no British references in press releases or other articles about them and I still went ahead and asked frontman Ben Troken, over the phone, “Are you guys from England?”

They are actually not. At all. So they must get that stupid question a lot because it seemed that Troken had his answer down pat. “I listened to a lot of that (Brit) stuff and a lot of ’60s music coming out of the U.K. and America. … It was all cross pollination anyway. … We’re big fans of the Kinks, and that’s the probably most British-sounding band ever,” he said.

The New York natives are, however, playing in Milwaukee tomorrow at the Miramar to promote their album. Their 2005 album, “Tree City,” was loads of fun, so Troken says, “We’re playing new things. … It’s bumming people out that we’re playing new songs they don’t know.”

Still, it’s helps to build anticipation. Because the Robbers crew hasn’t played the Midwest tour circuit on their own, they hopped on a tour with Chicagoans the Redwalls. “They’re really nice guys, but they’re scared of spiders and are shitty bowlers. Actually, two of them are OK — the brothers are OK,” Troken said.

Finally, I ask why the song “Crown Victoria” is named such when it doesn’t refer to British royalty. It’s actually a fancy-sounding American cars — a Ford, Troken said. “I just like names of things. I see them everywhere in New York, they’re town cars, cop cars. They’re big boats,” he said.

Then he added, to emphasize that they are not British and have no affinity to that island across the Atlantic. “I love America, it’s the best country ever. They (the Brits) make some nice guitars every now and then, though.”

What Robbers on High Street with the Redwalls
When 6 p.m., Thursday, July 12
Where The Miramar, 2844 N. Oakland Ave.
How much $8-10

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