Xiu Xiu Eclipse the Sunset Saps
I'm sure all of us have had the experience of sort of liking a band's music, going out to see them live for the first time, then coming home totally blown away by how great they were on stage. It's happened to me lots of times, and those are the times I'm rushing over to the merch stand to buy the latest CD or a T-shirt.
Now, turn that upside down and you have the experience that Sunset Rubdown fans had at Lee's Palace last night. Sharpen a pencil and poke yourself in the eye!
OK... so they were only there as openers for Xiu Xiu, but I got the feeling that a lot of the audience came out for them, not the headliner. How cruelly they were punished!
You knew things were not going to go well when (before the very first song) the lead singer (Spencer Krug?) asked the lighting guy to turn down the stage lighting so far that they basically played in the dark with a few desk lamps near their instruments. What you see in the photo is what the audience saw, unless they were right up front.
What's worse is that Mr. Krug decided to totally ignored the audience. The only time he looked in our general direction was over our heads to yell something at the sound guy.
The keyboard player apparently was keeping track of the timing, etc., and by half way through their set Krug kept asking her between songs.. "can we go yet?" or "how many more songs do we have to do?". That's not exactly my idea of building rapport with the crowd!
Anyway, there are lots of Arcade Fire wannabes out there, like Sunset Rubdown. You can do much better than going out to see Sunset Rubdown. Go see Arcade Fire instead.
Fortunately, Xiu Xiu made up for all that, although they certainly have a unique, avant-garde style. I loved it, but can understand that it wouldn't be everyone's cup of beer.
They play with a passion and intensity that's really hard to describe. If you don't know the band's material, listen in at their MySpace. Or listen to their song "I Broke Up right here...
The group's a trio from Oakland, California and (aside from the drums) I'm really not sure what instruments they were playing! All the same... highly recommended! Watch for them to come through again.
Now, turn that upside down and you have the experience that Sunset Rubdown fans had at Lee's Palace last night. Sharpen a pencil and poke yourself in the eye!
OK... so they were only there as openers for Xiu Xiu, but I got the feeling that a lot of the audience came out for them, not the headliner. How cruelly they were punished!
You knew things were not going to go well when (before the very first song) the lead singer (Spencer Krug?) asked the lighting guy to turn down the stage lighting so far that they basically played in the dark with a few desk lamps near their instruments. What you see in the photo is what the audience saw, unless they were right up front.
What's worse is that Mr. Krug decided to totally ignored the audience. The only time he looked in our general direction was over our heads to yell something at the sound guy.
The keyboard player apparently was keeping track of the timing, etc., and by half way through their set Krug kept asking her between songs.. "can we go yet?" or "how many more songs do we have to do?". That's not exactly my idea of building rapport with the crowd!
Anyway, there are lots of Arcade Fire wannabes out there, like Sunset Rubdown. You can do much better than going out to see Sunset Rubdown. Go see Arcade Fire instead.
Fortunately, Xiu Xiu made up for all that, although they certainly have a unique, avant-garde style. I loved it, but can understand that it wouldn't be everyone's cup of beer.
They play with a passion and intensity that's really hard to describe. If you don't know the band's material, listen in at their MySpace. Or listen to their song "I Broke Up right here...
The group's a trio from Oakland, California and (aside from the drums) I'm really not sure what instruments they were playing! All the same... highly recommended! Watch for them to come through again.
posted by Charles Whaley at Friday, April 13, 2007
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home