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There's something inherently likable about about Spencer Krug. Just ask Wolf Parade bandmate Dan Boeckner who snidely referred to him as the guy that everybody likes. Although that was a clear barb, Boeckner has a point. Dante DeCaro, another fellow Wolf Parade member likes him enough to continue touring with Krug (under the moniker of opener Johnny & The Moon). Fellow Canadians Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes) and Dan Bejar (Destroyer) like him enough to work with him on their own side... and main... projects. And I liked him enough to buy a copy of Sunset Rubdown's new album Random Spirit Lover after their show last night even though I had been thoroughly underwhelmed with its predecessor. Krug's stage persona, which consists of equal parts boisterous keyboard pounder and almost shy, reluctant frontman were enough to endear himself to last night's audience, even when the music failed to do so.
Unlike the project for which he is the most well-known, Sunset Rubdown is not always easily accessible. Anyone who has listened to last year's release, Shut Up I Am Dreaming knows that Sunset Rubdown is not the drunken Guiness-swinging music of Apologies to the Queen Mary. Krug's signature wail and keyboard parts aside, any number of the Sunset Rubdown tracks actually share more in common with Krug collaborator Dan Bejar's main act, Destroyer. Unfortunately, this means that some of these tracks have picked up a sort of unaccessible pretention which only really works some of the time. Those more difficult tracks also fell short on stage at the Black Cat, but because Krug & co. really allowed themselves to cut loose and immerse themselves in these heavily nuanced rock songs which made them both effective and powerful performers.
Sunset Rubdown immediately established that despite the full room, they wanted this to be an intimate show. It seems that much like Steve Carrell, they also love lamp, as it was some of the only lighting they used. Nonetheless, Krug was thoroughly drenched in sweat by about the third song. Krug had apologized at a couple of points throughout the night for playing a lot of new material, claiming that "Old stuff is always better than new stuff." And although familiar tracks like "The Empty Threats of Little Lord" were welcome, Sunset Rubdown, now a quintet, lost themselves so completely in the new material that the fact that nobody knew the songs was irrelevant. If Krug himself wasn't commanding the attention, then multi-instrumentalist (and former Pony Up! member) Camilla Wynne Ingr was with her unstoppable tapping feet and her creative ways of creating the eclectic sounds.
Another act to file under "better than I expected" was opener Johnny & The Moon. Seeing DeCaro with a banjo and harmonica immediately raised some eyebrows as this is somewhat removed from his more famous milieu. However, there was enough Joe Strummer influence in his songs to keep from sounding like yet another Bob Dylan knock off. Although, DeCaro did have the requisite crackly voice to have accomplished being a folky Dylan knock off, being able to put a more Nirvana-style spin to the banjo playing kept everything fresh.
If I was surprised that last night's acts performed as well as they did, then I wasn't alone. Krug questioned the Black Cat's loud applause and whether playing more music for their encore would actually be a good idea, only to be met with fervent resistance when they tried to leave. This was the sort of performance that proved that giving a band a second chance can be a totally worthwhile and perspective changing idea. I'm glad that it was able to change mine.
Photo by Valerie Paschall
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Why is all the music coverage on DCist always about this tepid out-of-town indie rock? Isn't there anything else going on musically in DC?