BigYawn

Finishing the weekend that was Lollapalooza, using only my mostly unedited tweets and a few random comments in italics. Brief wrap up of the day and the festival following the tweets:

11:24 AM:  Yesterday, 18 bands, 80 something and cloudy, nice

11:24 AM:  Today, 95 and all sun

11:25 AM:  Mike’s Pawn Shop(199) in the shade, I suppose it could be worse

11:28 AM:  Young hooligans smoking lots of weed at 11:25. Ah the joy of youth http://twitpic.com/dac6s

11:40 AM:  Care Bears on Fire(200), composed of 13 year old girls, better than a lot of other bands I’ve seen this weekend

12:00 PM:  And the girls are band # 200!!!!!

12:21 PM:  Carney(201) seems like a nice respectable touring band from LA. But one that I likely won’t remember much of tomorrow

12:46 PM:  A huge crowd for Ra Ra Riot(202), the first band on the main stage. Are they really that big?

1:10 PM:  I confused Davy Knowles(203) with Davey Havok. Imagine my surprise.

1:23 PM:  Dude retying a banner. Not a job I want. http://twitpic.com/dar51

1:47 PM:  Bat for Lashes(204) is awesome, looking forward to seeing her not outside in crazy hot weather. And by the looks of it, so will she

1:48 PM:  As the wind literally blows the stage apart http://twitpic.com/daum4

2:29 PM:  Bat for Lashes set may have been so far of the festival

2:45 PM:  Cage the Elephant(205), another stupid band name, had too many people. All fans of bare shaved mens’ chests, apparently

2:47 PM:  Lunch Money(206) seem to be entertaining the kids. Of the 4 year old variety.

3:26 PM:  Priscilla Renea(207), late to the sched. Added some soul/pop to the mix

3:46 PM:  Seeing Gang Gang Dance(208) live reminds me why I don’t like their music

4:05 PM:  Dan Deacon(209) has a million people on stage and just created some sort of self creating line thingy in the middle of the gazillion people here

4:17 PM:  Now there is an entire marching band on stage and Dan is going to sing in the crowd

4:29 PM:  Bizarre visual as Deacon has one corner of thousands dancing like mad and the other end of the field is filling up with many more thousands

4:30 PM:  For Vampire Weekend(210) of all bands

4:39 PM:  Yes, all these people for VW http://twitpic.com/dbkbv

5:07 PM:  In contrast, not many folks at Neko Case(211)

5:55 PM:  Honestly struggling to stay awake — as are many others– during Dan Aurbach(212)

6:31 PM:  I will likely never get another chance to see Lou Reed(213), so even 30 minutes is a blessing

6:38 PM:  And they are apparently still sound checking Lou, which is total BS (and he went on late and played 20 minutes into Band of Horses‘ set, who also played long)

7:15 PM:  That many people for Snoop(214). Lou’s crowd was much much smaller. http://twitpic.com/dc7v7

7:23 PM:  I gotta say, kinda lame. The guy really doesn’t have to work that hard

8:26 PM:  Good set from Silversun Pickups(215). Odd the last time I saw them was In a room of 100 people

8:43 PM:  The Killers(216) are predictable. The only time I will ever hear ” Somebody Told Me.” My grandkids will no doubt be jealous

9:13 PM:  Jane’ Addiction(217) finishing the weekend up. Perry being Perry. “Been Caught Stealing” is precious though http://twitpic.com/dcpcw

9:28 PM:  Ali, me and Jane’s! 56 fucking bands later… Um, see you next year Lollapalooza? http://twitpic.com/dcrid

12:11 AM:  Midnight,after a fabulous weekend of music.I couldn’t have done it without my companion Ali, whose presence made it so much better
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Good stuff on the last day
- Bat for Lashes
- Silversun Pickups
- Care Bears on Fire
- A great bistro afterwards
- knowing we survived

And the bad?
- disappointments from Lou Reed And Snoop Dog
- expensive t-shirt prices
- no afterparties

Final thoughts? I had an amazing time. The festival was well put together and everything you could need was available. It wasn’t far too walk, and the sound was generally handled well, minus one spot of serious overlap. The bands mostly went on on time, and were pretty considerate. There was shade and places to sit, and cheap food and drink. Water was even given away, especially on the last day when it was pretty hot. The weather ran a gamut, but was never unbearable, either with the rain or heat. Being in downtown Chicago truly made the difference, and being able to walk to our hotel and take a shower before grabbing food was awesome. I’m looking forward to going back again some time.

And finally, yes, I know the image on all these reviews says 2010, but the logo is from this year. So leave me alone.

Continuing the weekend that was Lollapalooza, using only my mostly unedited tweets and a few random comments in italics. Brief wrap up of the day to follow tweets below:

11:04 AM:  Day two starts with breakfast at the Dunk http://twitpic.com/d5v10

11:44 AM:  Band of Skulls(181) are almost as weak an opener for the day as April Smith(162)

12:11 AM:  Thenewno2(182) is the dumbest band name ever. Their music isn’t bad though, so if they just changed their name…

12:29 PM:  The Low Anthem(183) is apparently from PVD and are now one of my favorite bands of the festival by default

12:31 PM:  And they are pretty folky too

1:07 PM:  Constantines(184) are loud as fuck but there is too much sound bleed on the 3 south stages

1:08 PM:  And no, not my ears

1:10 PM:  The Constantines remind Ali of a high school band. Not a glowing endorsement, she went to HS in Jersey…

1:39 PM:  The guys from Miike Snow(185) came out in all black with phantom of the opera masks. Gotta love the swedes

1:40 PM:  I really like their 80’s sound a lot though

1:53 PM:  Make that really really like, quite a coming out party for them

2:31 PM:  Briefly caught Langhorn Slim(186). Not really my thing

2:38 PM:  Someone needs to tell Architecture in Helsinki that Los Campesinos!(187) has completely stolen their shit.

2:41 PM:  But not necessarily doing it better

3:13 PM:  Joe Pug(188) is a pretty twangy mellow one. Or ones? I’ll just assume pug is not this dudes name

3:45 PM:  Me, half way through day two. Yes you are right I should be a photographer http://twitpic.com/d70tm

3:45 PM:  Robert Earl Kean(189) equals good lunch in the shade music

4:43 PM:  Blind Pilot(190) were seen, but not thoroughly enjoyed. Too soft for the middle of the day

4:53 PM:  As close as I want to get to the Coheed and Cambria(191) nightmare, but don’t worry I can still hear them http://twitpic.com/d7b9z

6:10 PM:  No Age(192) was the last normalcy experienced. Insane crowds for Arctic Monkeys(193) and Santigold(194)

6:11 PM:  Like, of the life threatening kind. Lolla folks need to figure out how to mark a “path” and a place to watch the show

6:29 PM:  The “indie” side of the festival is a nightmare. Rise Against(195) on the other hand…

6:46 PM:  Their political views aside — though actually refreshing — Rise Against have been the best rock act of the fest

6:46 PM:  Along with Depeche Mode(180) if course

7:44 PM:  As expected, Animal Collective(196) suck. Is it the drugs, do I need drugs?

8:33 PM:  This is BS as Animal Collective keeps playing as Tool(197) is starting

8:34 PM:  Finally, justice… Not that I’m a big Tool fan mind you…

8:44 v  Gotta say Tool at night outside with all their creepy visuals is pretty ridiculous in a good way

9:01 PM:  “Prison Sex” http://twitpic.com/d8cgw

9:07 PM:  Maynard looks like Ichabod Crane on stage, this dark thin figure dancing with his mic stand in front of bizarre images and lights

9:39 PM:  The Yeah Yeah Yeahs(198) playing against possibly the coolest festival background ever http://twitpic.com/d8i26

9:41 PM:  We knew we smelled horse shit this morning http://twitpic.com/d8iea (apparently some idiot got arrested for punching one of these horses)
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Quickly, my likes for day two
- Rise Against
- Miike Snow
- Tool
- beef stew for dinner
- no rain
- shortcuts
- sitting on natural hills

And the dislikes
- Animal Collective, total garbage
- too much twang
- no more tall boys!
- ridiculous crowds jamming themselves up
- not getting to see much of Santigold due to the crowds
- sound overlaps

My parents would never have let me go to the original conception of Lollapalooza, and if I were in my teens there is no way they would have even let go to the new version of the festival either. I had all but given up on festivals as an adult, having been to the train wreck that was Woodstock ‘99, an HFStival and a couple of Siren Fests in Coney Island. Claustrophobic, Hot, Messy, Frat-tastic, just a few of the words that come to mind when I remember them. So, as I was looking over the festival season for 2009, trying to decide which one I should go to, I had to give it a lot of thought. I figured the least-festival Festival was going to be one located in downtown Chicago, where I could stay in a decent hotel and take a hot shower, and eat real food. In the end, all of those things were saviors, and will likely have me thinking about going to Lollapalooza again, I’m happy to say.

I tweeted live from Lolla, so in lieu of drawn-out descriptions, I figured I would just reprint those tweets, broken up by day. At the end of each day I’ll end with a brief wrap up of my final thoughts. Keep in mind the occasional time lapse due to cellular reception. So, the almost unedited tweets from day one follow, with minor comments in italics:

9:43 AM: My belly is still full from Giordanos and Blackbird

10:53 AM: Breakfast http://twitpic.com/d1i3g

11:04 AM: Lines? Really? This long to get into a festival? http://twitpic.com/d1jub

11:25 AM: April Smith(162): first Lolla 2009 artist to possibly see. Who else was gonna play at 11:15?

11:31 AM: Bonded. For the next 3 days anyway… http://twitpic.com/d1nak

11:42 AM: Oh yeah, it is raining too http://twitpic.com/d1o9w

11:57 AM: Hockey(163), kinda generic dance rock. In the rain

12:42 PM: First great discovery: Hey Champ(164), 80s dance down to the players club cred

1:06 PM: Black Joe Lewis(165), because every festival needs a little James Brown, RIP

1:13 PM: It isn’t often you hear hip hop rapping about a fresh cappachino with a mocha twist. Enter the Knux(166).

1:15 PM: are they from Chi? Very large following…

1:57 PM: Frances England(167) just sang a song about Jaques Cousteau being a friend of the ocean. I suppose that is true.

2:34 PM: 30 minutes of White Lies(169) is much better than 20 of Gaslight Anthem(168)

3:07 PM: Yes it is raining and all but still very cool. http://twitpic.com/d2g6l

4:18 PM: Still don’t get all the live for Bon Iver(170)

4:19 PM : When does Ben Folds(171) stop being cool? Or is it too late?

4:52 PM: Not a fan of country but could appreciate the diversity Eric Church(172) provided on this indie heavy bill

4:54 PM: Sorry, “love” for Bon Iver. And yeah, still don’t see it

5:01 PM: Apparently the chick in the dirty summer dress needs some lounge-wear and bras, or so she said. Pic not included for legal reasons

5:18 PM: Beardo + brill cream = Fleet Foxes(173). Kinda hard to watch

5:44 PM: Asher Roth(174) and Crystal Castles(175) at the same time = complete nonsense. (their overlapping music, not the schedule)

5:44 PM: And yes, Crystal Castles are a train wreck

6:31 PM : Ok so barely 3 A-teak songs but the bathroom was calling and really, all this dancing during the day?

6:32 PM: A-Trak(176) sorry

6:32 PM: Why Hazards of Love Decemberists(177), why?

7:46 PM: So today is the day Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal(178) dresses in a polo and jeans? Lame… (apparently he was properly dressed earlier in the set)

9:04 PM:  Depeche Mode(179) live!!!

9:05 PM: Gahan has the most unique voice I think I’ve ever heard

11:01 PM: 11pm, 1 day and 19 fucking bands. 19 Fucking bands! 333 bands, you are so my bitch

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Big winners from day one were Depeche Mode, obviously, but I was also impressed with Hey Champ and the Knux. The losers are pretty much all the indie royalty bands from the last three years: Decemberists, Of Montreal, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver.

Yes, it rained on and off all day, but luckily free ponchos and proper planning prevented it from ruining our day. Food was reasonably cheap, and so were beers, especially the tall boys of Miller Light, mmm-mmm. Why so many people wore sandals is beyond me. Some very, very gross looking folks out there. I was impressed with the overall organization of the festival and the layout. Kudos all around. Happy to have survived day one, and ate at some sort of burger joint that was really good, though the name now escapes me. On to day two…

You would think bands, especially touring ones like Elbow(161), would know better than to go out on tour with solo acts like Jesca(sic) Hoop(160). Not that she had a bad voice, or was awkward up there, but she was simply so uninteresting. I get that she was obviously a friend of the band, good for her. But c’mon, why must I be subjected to said solo guitarist when I want to see some bands play some music? I know this is a stupid conversation, but it just bothers me is all, and I needed to say it.

The thing about this show, is that the audience LOVED her. Why, you might ask? Because she is the perfect coffee shop Mayer/Kearney/OAR/Guster/Degraw/Johnson type these “never been to more than five concerts in a year” types seem to love. Elbow has reached across the aisle thanks to avenues like NPR — which is not a bad thing — to suddenly be cool with the yuppies. And yuppies pretty much like terrible shit, when left to their own accords. There, there is my rant. Die yuppies, die.

The band I was actually there to see, as I have liked them since like 2002 because their music is good, not because I heard it while at the Lexus dealership, put on one Hell of a show. Lead vocalist Guy Garvey may have one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard. Everything he sings just sounds perfect to me, whether it be a slow ballad or a more fast-paced rocker. This is worth noting as singers who have the same type of sultry voice Guy has cannot generally translate to upbeat rock numbers. Not that Elbow are ever going to break out into a cover of “London Calling” mind you, but they are certainly capable of doing more than just mellow.

One of the most interesting things about Elbow’s discography is that while mainstream success has only recently reached them, their music has been consistent since Asleep in the Back was released in 2001. And by consistent I mean good obviously, but also, fairly unchanged. So if you were to pick up any of their four albums, the sound would not be drastically different. While you usually expect a band to grow into their success, Elbow has just been doing what they’re good at for over a decade. All of which just makes their recent success so much sweeter no doubt.

As an aside, I must relate a classic concert-going story to you. Throughout much of the first half of the set, some jack-ass behind me kept yelling, making fun of the band, just being a moron, loudly. Eventually, some Brit standing next to me turned around and told him to “Shut the Fuck up!” Needless to say, there was a back and forth for awhile, but no fight. Eventually the Brit started laughing at the a-hole, who did finally tone his comments down. Then I think he even bought him a beer. A classic example of the “everyone is a tough guy till they called on it” moment. The Brit just pussied out. Not that he should have started a fight, but to end up buddy-buddy with him was just lame. As it turns out I finally looked at the a-hole and discovered I actually worked with him years ago. I didn’t remember him having a personality then, which makes sense since he obviously likes to go on alcoholic rages at shows and likely goes home to beat his significant other because of his own inadequacies. Or, possibly not.

The opportunity arose, for whatever reason, to see My Bloody Valentine(159) in Richmond. One of those once in a lifetime types of shows. A huge band that never plays the states if anywhere. A venue that was pretty small all things considered. A short two-hour drive from home? Sold. Plus, this is the year I have stretched to see artists I should have either already seen, or ones who may very well never tour again, or are simply someone worth seeing once. You can see from my list of bands both seen and upcoming, that I have been hard on the reunion tours. But this show wasn’t even part of a tour. MBV were only in the states to play the All Points West Festival in NY. This show, was simply a bonus.

Neither the band or the venue announced the opener until the day of, and for all the hoping for Dinosaur Jr (J. Mascis had apparently recommended the National as the best venue on the East coast?) the task fell to Kurt Heasley(158), leader — and often sole proprietor — of ex-DC band Lilys. Kurt played solo, with only an acoustic guitar. If you don’t know Lilys, know this, their music cannot be reproduced reasonably with an acoustic guitar. It was too bad, but Kurt was out of his element. If it had been the full band, no worries. But everyone was there to see MBV, and were very, very anxious. Kurt was standing in the way of that happening. The five people paying attention to him might have thought he did a great job, but no one cared. He played for a solid 40 minutes though, which only spiked the existing anticipation with an ARod sized dose of steroids.

When MBV finally came on stage — in complete silence of course — they tore through their set at decibels not often experienced by human ears. The band actually asked the audience to wear ear plugs that were given out for free when you walked in to the venue. This was a good thing, though the ones I brought were better, because even with them in my ear, I heard nothing but ringing upon leaving the show. This feeling was perhaps brought on by the much hyped “holocaust” section of “You Made Me Realize.” Imagine sitting on a lawn chair on top of a jet engine, while random objects are tossed into the engine, from the sublime, a teddy bear, to the potentially dangerous, a 32″ tv. The ensuing noise and veritable orchestra of sounds high and low, pretty much represent what this portion of the song sounded like. And it went on for ten minutes. Not the song, just this section of the song. I’m not a moron, I expected the show to be loud, I anticipated not hearing any vocals. None of this surprises me, I was just unaware of quite how crushing the wall of sound from MBV actually was.

The sound aside, the experience of seeing MBV was awesome. As expected, nary a word of chit-chat was uttered on stage. With the exception of Kevin Shields mentioning some bass issues while they were taking some time to fix said issues, I don’t think we got more than a thank you. Whether this has something to do with perpetuating the MBV mythos(note the 18 year old photo, their most recent) or this is really how the band operates, I don’t know. They have an awkward history at any rate, simply stopping doing anything from 1993 on. Some say Shields went crazy, other reports say that the band was just bored and uninspired to record anything new or play out. How very Portishead of them.

Whatever their plans for the future are, which supposedly include finishing a shelved third LP, getting an opportunity to see a band who had virtually created the genre of shoegaze, and influenced countless thousands of bands despite very little output, was amazing. I wasn’t a huge fan of MBV before, and this show didn’t change that, but even I can recognize that they are something “special,” in all senses of that word.

Wasn’t going to go to this one, but got the idea that tickets might be cheap outside of the venue on the day of. And, they sure were. Two tickets were purchased for the cost of one ticket sans fees. Bonus!

In some ways I think that you could look at the Kaiser Chiefs(156) as Mikey from the movie Swingers: the band that grew up before our very eyes and snagged the big fish. Unfortunately for them, they bit off more than they could chew when they signed on to open for Green Day(157). They are simply not an arena band, at least not in the US anyway. This isn’t meant as a shot against them, or even a put down, as they are not a terrible band, and they have some catchy singles, but it is not enough of a repertoire — again, here in the states — to pull off even 35 minutes of interest. I felt bad the place was half empty and maybe, maybe a quarter interested, but hey,  you gotta learn sometime.

Green Day is one of those bands where all your friends laugh at you for going to see. And, to a certain extent I can see why. They peaked while I was 20, and their “punk rock” attitude appeals far more to the high school crowd than to the nostalgic adult music lover. There were many, many, many of the former in attendance on this night, but I like to think a few of that latter as well. And really, the band didn’t disappoint either crowd.

Obviously having grown up a bit, the band has matured from their roots to quite the arena rockers. The lighting, the pyro, the sound, the use of the crowd, this was obviously not Green Day’s first rodeo. Billy Joe must have brought 4 or 5 people up on stage to sing, dance, and once to even play a guitar part. True, nothing outrageous, and after awhile the constant looking to the crowd for additional bodies got old, but I appreciated the effort.

American Idiot, their last album before this years 21st Century Breakdown, hit at a time in my life when music was everything to me, and I spent a lot of time traveling long distance in a car. And for some reason, the only disc that was always around to play was American Idiot. So I got to really appreciate the album, especially rock opera “Jesus of Suburbia,” which is a hell of a track to keep you awake at 4 am on the Jersey Turnpike. Happily, the band covered this album well throughout the set, as well as pretty much every album, Dookie-forward. The new songs, while not as biting as American Idiot, are still in the same vein: rock, pop and punk. Really the same equation Green Day has built a career on, though there are plenty of people who feel the band’s most recent material is a prime example of a band selling out. I think it is really just more of the same, subject matter aside.

So, this went from a show I didn’t think I’d be attending to quite a surprise. I liked the performance a lot, and while I don’t necessarily need to see Green Day again at whatever prices they might be charging, it would still be worth it. FYI, the photo of Green Day above is of them at the White House. I somehow doubt this trip would have happened if Bush was still there.

It has been some time since I saw Philly-based band Illinois(154) though they have been hitting up DC9 nearly monthly this year, as they went about writing a lot of new music. They were releasing what seemed like an EP a month. The funny thing about these guys is that every time I see them I feel like they get more and more rootsy, when the fact is, I think I’ve just been ignoring that fact since day one. And no, it is not just the banjo lead singer Chris Archibald plays, it is their whole sound. Though the banjo is not an instrument easily pulled off in indie-rock circles — unless you are wearing nothing but overalls and are in a band called O’Death — so my hat is off to them for keeping it relevant.

As I said, they seemed to have a residency at DC9 or something, but that didn’t stop them from having all sorts of technical difficulty there on this night. The set as a whole was not bad. I have never been outright blown away by Illinois, but they always do a good job of keeping me interested, which of late is not a small feat.

I don’t know if you remember that fraternity on your college campus, the one which had a lot of the misfits, the guys who didn’t get much tail, but did get some non-fat girls. The one where the guys were geeky-smart but socially adept enough to know where they stood on the social ladder. Good guys the lot, but still had parties you couldn’t get into? These are also the guys who stopped paying their frat fees almost as soon as they left. Not lifers, as it were. You remember them? Well I think some of those guys grew up to be the Builders and the Butchers(155).

Their style of 70’s rock could best be compared to AC Newman, save the fact that they seem to throw everything up to and including the kitchen sink in their music: Horns and weird string things, whatever might have a positive effect on their music. Except… for cymbals? The drum kit had but a single cymbal. Admittedly it was a fairly sparse kit to begin with, but for a band that often employed two percussionists, having such a meager opportunity for sharp highs seems odd. Strange, but it didn’t take away from the anything goes type of approach the band seemed to have. While not exactly my thing, it was nice to see these guys having fun and be moved by their own music. And they seemed generally happy to be making a living performing, something I enjoy seeing up on stage. I just wish they let me into their parties a little more often.

If you are gonna do the sort of thing I’m doing in DC, you have to include some DC legends along the way, it’s the right thing to do. Easier said than done however; Fugazi is gone; any of a million Dischord bands never talk much less play together; Dismemberment Plan, Girls Against Boys, Shudder to Think, Unrest, Velocity Girl, and Q and Not U are all gone minus the occasional reunion show; Even a band like the Evens or Weird War — included in the newer bands with legends in them category — are nowhere to be found. Of course, I see the Ians all the time (including this very show) and Chain and the Gang are on my list, but really, it ain’t easy. I did however stumble upon Unrest and Teen Beat Records leader Mark Robinson and his new duo, Cotton Candy(151).

On the topic of Cotton Candy, the one thing that comes to mind is that Garrison Keillor would be proud. The duo’s set, if you can call it that, was really 30 minutes of public radio, circa 1940, including the various commercials and sing along station call outs. All of which was great, I guess. It is just the kind of thing aging DC musicians in their 40’s can get away with. And so it goes.

I had never seen Ladybug Transistor(152) live, no doubt for a hundred possible reasons. Sadly, I doubt I will be running out to catch them again anytime soon. Sort of indie legends in the pop world, they, along with the Feelies,  seem to represent the NYC scene in most discussions of the genre. Yet, I was not the least bit liking their music. I don’t really have a reason why, there was certainly nothing offensive about it, it was just pretty plain. Maybe it was that it bordered on jammy pop, if there even is such a thing. In a weird way they reminded me of the Bigger Lovers, a band I quite liked while they were together. Both bands play pop music with less emphasis on the hooks. But for some reason the Bigger Lovers reach me in a way the Ladybug Transistor never will.

Crystal Stilts(153) equals lots of blog buzz of late, but I honestly never realized their music was so indie pop. Perhaps I just figured any band with “Crystal” in their name were all synths and lots and lots of shitty attitude. But that would have done this particular “Crystal” band a huge disservice. Not to say I fell in love with Crystal Stilts, far from it. However I do feel their music had more going for it than their openers. While not low-fi at all, the music really takes shape around the muffled and heavily reverbed lead vocals of Brad Hargett. As the picture on the right might suggest, he pretty much just stands there and sings, usually with his eyes closed, with very limited movement. Nothing wrong with that I suppose, except that it creeps me out. He really needed either an instrument to play, or a dash of personality onstage, so that he moved around, had some swagger, something!

In the end, this was a night full of pop music, including some played by a DC “legend.” All of the bands have a reputation attached to them that leads you to believe they are doing it right. I won’t come out and disagree, but nothing I heard is going to have any sort of lasting effect on me.

VNV Nation(150) meant nothing to me, as I did not spend my formative years dancing at Nation/Capital Ballroom, the now deceased venue that was more often than not the location of various alternative/industrial concerts during the 90’s and early 00’s, including the weekly Alchemy dance party, where I’m guessing many of the kids at the VNV Nation show learned their chops. But, I was curious what their following was, and I got free tickets. Plus, after doing a little research and checking out their myspace, I thought I might enjoy myself.

The dance/goth version of Britney Spears opened up the show. Ayria(148) was, um, something for sure. My girlfriend really liked her, and you could tell by her enthusiasm on stage, and how excited she was that the entire roomful of crazy kids were cheering for her, that she was 100% genuine. Why wouldn’t she be you might ask? Well, the photo to the left tells a story, as did the corn row braids in her hair, as did the two accompanying dressed in black creepy dudes on synths and drum pad. Let’s face it, this was not music for me, and I had a hard time figuring out why it was really music for anyone, but, and a big but, the place was going nuts for her. So, she’s obviously got something going for her.

And then there was War Tapes(149). I guess I can see how they ended up on this bill, as they are dark indie rock, but I have no idea where the good press for this bunch came from. At best, and I’m talking about waking up, having sex, finding a million bucks on the floor at your favorite fried chicken restaurant best day, they are the Bravery. And that is hardly reason to be showing anyone love. Skabba the Hut anyone?

On top of being plain boring, the band looked practically catatonic on stage. Keep in mind that the audience was fairly packed too, so there was plenty of energy in the room. I can’t say the crowd was there for War Tapes specifically, but at least there were a couple dudes up front loving every minute of it. I don’t ask for much besides capable musicianship on stage, but I do prefer the bands I paid money to see — had I actually done that here — to have a pulse. I’ve already wasted too many words here.

The dudes from VNV Nation, in particular frontman Ronan Harris, are pretty nuts. Harris completely sees his role as MC not just in regards to performances with his band, but with the entire audience as well. He constantly pulls and pushes them, asking them to participate and than telling them to go to Hell. He seems like an interesting guy, and really, a perfect voice for the gothy/electronica music VNV Nation plays. The touring band is more than just the duo pictured left, so the wall of sound is rather heavy at times, both the highs and the lows.

And the crowd, well, let’s get back to them. As this was one of the more niched shows I’ve seen, the genre theory I previously mentioned in my Mastodon(87) review applies. In other words, the crowd is full of crazy motherfuckers. Even in the nose-bleeds people were dancing rather manically. Based on VNV Nation’s light shows, that could have been for medical reasons, but I’m betting on the fact it was simply a demonstration of a very rabid fan base.

And oh yeah, Harris was none to happy to not be playing at Nation anymore. While I’m sure he appreciated the 9:30 Club, I’ve no doubt Nation had more than a few perks for a band like this. Luckily for him and the rest of VNV Nation, their crowd followed them, and based on the enthusiasm, likely would have all the way to concert Hell: DAR. Hopefully it never comes to that.

As as old McClusky fan, I was looking forward to seeing Future of the Left(147) in such a small venue as DC9, regardless of who was opening. That thought process was put to the test when I saw a full set from Mount Vicious(146).

I couldn’t — and still can’t — figure out if these guys were trying to be serious or not. They seemed to bounce back and forth from Southern Culture on the Skids moments to more serious southern style rock. The lead singer certainly played the part, announcing what nearly every song was about, all of which I’m pretty sure was made up on the spot, and none of which was remotely interesting. Either way, it really didn’t matter as I was not a fan of their music whether their comedy was intentional or not. Thankfully their set was not much more than 30 minutes long, which gave me a good chance to catch up on some e-mail.

The guys from Future of the Left were both more comical and played better music. In fact, it was their on stage banter that was most refreshing. Instead of the same old same old which almost always entails some comment on how we got a new leader in town, blah, blah, blah, we had jokes on how much Coney Island sucks (something about not getting herpes), how New Jersey rhymes with cunt (a personal fav), and numerous jokes about the recently deceased Michael Jackson. Funny, yes. In good taste, not so much.

The music was serious, and pretty damn good. Andrew Falkous was doing Craig Finn way before Graig Finn was doing it, and is still doing it significantly better. The “talking” style of singing allows him to scream and yell in a much more enjoyable way than say, some of the doom metal-ers out there.

As you can tell from the photo on the right, the band holds nothing back, giving 150% of effort, sweating through their shirts, scraping their vocal chords of all they are worth. It was honestly one of the better shows I’ve seen this year, and that is with the music and the personalities all wrapped up of course. My favorite joke of the night was:

“Wanna hear my Michael Jackson impression”?

“…”

“I mean, he’s dead, right?”

Classic…