Monday, June 21, 2004
Concert Season
I saw a trio of concerts this week, which has got to be a personal record. I don't often see 3 concerts in a month--or even 6. But Red and I wanted to see these headliners and they all just scheduled this way.
First up: Franz Ferdinand at the Metro. The Webb Brothers opened and I can honestly say I don't remember much about them, positive or negative. Sons and Daughters followed, and in some ways I think they were the coolest band I saw all week. 2 women, 2 men, all of them Scots, and the sound was very stripped down, tough, cool, intriguing. I want their album! (A review that ran in the Chicago Trib said they were "nipping at the heels" of Franz Ferdinand. Then the main act, Franz Ferdinand. Truth be told, I'd only heard their album a few times--this was Red's pick, not mine. I bought Hot Hot Heat's, Interpol's and The Rapture's last CDs, and this seemed too much in that vein for me to invest myself in. But they absolutely sizzled live. It turned out to be by far the most exciting act of the week, and one of the best live shows I've ever seen. The Saturday night audience was in the palm of their hands (and quite a cool audience it was, as audiences go)--erupting in cheers and applause, screaming, dancing. It was great fun. The album came fully alive. I found that I knew the songs well despite only a few exposures over the last few weeks (proving their memorabiliy), and the sound was incredible. The boys were gorgeous but clearly possessed of professional talent. There was a hint of glam to the act, as they strutted and jumped and kicked around the stage looking wonderfully stylish in an early-80s-inflected way. Their songs, I started to realize, are enormously sexy, usually involving stories or scenarios that invite you to imagine yourself in--exploring the "dark of the matinee," for instance. Some of the songs explore bisexuality quite overtly (then there's Michael, which I wrote about earlier), and the audience was clearly worked up. Call 'em metrosexual posterboys! I still prefer Interpol slightly--their melancholy brand of cool suits me better (I'm not the nightclubbin' playboy type--surprised?)--and I do appreciate Hot Hot Heat's punkier side, but I was absolutely blown away by this concert.
Next up: Grant Lee Phillips on Thursday. The big surprise here was that opening act John Doe (of X fame) was more of a performance partner: the two performed several numbers for each other's sets. I didn't know John Doe's material, but it was strong straight-up rock with a folky inflection (though not quite as much as Grant Lee's). One other thing I can say about Doe (who I saw recently on DVD rental of Torque!) is that he wears his jeans and jives to the music in a very sexy way. A quick tangent: after his opening set, I went to the bathroom only to return and find a stranger in my seat. Shit, I thought, I'll have to be aggressive and get rid of some jerk. It was Doe, who'd joined a couple women he knew in the audience. As intermission ended he left and I got my seat back. Red had meanwhile gotten to shake his hand, which was good because he was more familiar with the man than me. Cool guy. I wanted Grant Lee to do more songs off his lovely recent album, Viriginia Creeper--because it's the only one I know! But he did do the best songs, and suddenly it struck me how many of his songs are love songs written and addressed to women characters--a profoundly heterosexual artist (they both were). Oh, well. No one's perfect. The band and back-up singer (who all stayed on stage the whole evening, backing both men) were very good. I wish there'd been a violinist, because the instrument is such a strong part of the new album's appeal, but, hey, you can't alway get what you want, eh? Aside from numbers such as Mona Lisa, Lily-A-Passion and Calamity Jane, GLP also did a number or two from his GLBuffalo days. They also covered Gram Parsons, Merle Haggard and X, of course. A strong concert--not quite what I'd expected, but very enjoyable.
Lastly: The Shins at the House of Blues on Friday. First, I have to say I'm not wild about the space there. It's too weird and consciously folk-arty. The lower level space is mostly covered by a low ceiling that hurts sound and creates an uncomfortable cavernous space. Yuck. I was thinking about the fact that it's a chain and decided it was like the Hard Rock Cafe of concert venues. Then today I was reading and saw a mention of a guy who was a co-founder of both chains, so hey are related! I was right! Anyway, opening band The Rogue Waves seemed like decent guys, but didn't impress me much. Next act The Glands were a really boring band in the vein of a Sonic Youth without the insane originality and variety. A band only critics could love. Slow songs, a terrible singer. They were really nice, though, for what it's worth. The Shins. It's funny, but I had almost the opposite reaction as I did to Franz Ferdinand. I think The Shins' album Chutes Too Narrow is brilliant, and it improves with listening. I'm so excited about their future. And their performance was just fine--the crowd was very much into them. (Truth be told it was an uncomfortably packed house, 1 of 2 sold out gigs.) But I didn't feel that the concert lived up to the album. The material didn't breathe enough for me. They were "good, giving and game," though, as Dan Savage would say, and I did enjoy the concert. It was the first time I'd ever seen a 4-guy band where the lead singer was introverted, didn't speak more than a couple words, and the keyboardist did all the talking. Interesting twist on the typical band psych profile. And the boys are clearly quite proud of being from New Mexico--there were some amusing flag-caping antics.
