On the list of the most widely circulated myths about Washington, sandwiched in between "they all work for the government" and "it's such a transient city" is this little mistruth: "no one in D.C. knows how to have a good time". Now, we could (and probably will) spend all week arguing this point in the comments, but at the end of the day, that surely isn't going to convince anyone outside of D.C. that we know how to have fun -- if anything, just the opposite. Luckily, there are folks among us who are doing their part as goodwill ambassadors for the District, by disabusing out-of-towners of their erroneous notions in person. Don't believe us? Well, you should have been at the Black Cat on Thursday night, when a sold-out crowd showed a few touring bands that there's more to this town than what you see on C-SPAN.

Admittedly, Jacksonville Florida's Black Kids didn't seem all that surprised. That makes sense when you consider that the band's core members--brother and sister duo Reggie and Ali Youngblood--once lived in D.C. before retreating farther south. The band has been picking up a lot of mentions on popular music blogs during the past few months on the strength of their Wizard of Ahhhs EP and two catchy singles from their forthcoming full-length, Partie Traumatic. A little bit throwback pop, a little bit rock and a little bit soul, the Kids' dancey, sassy set served as a perfect warm-up for headliners Cut Copy. Despite the band's relative newness, the front rows at the Black Cat responded in kind: dancing, shouting and singing along for the duration of the Black Kids' set. It was a little surprising for a band that doesn't even have an album out, though definitely warranted.

(Mehan Jayasuriya)

NEXT »

 

The Black Kids may have received a rare reception for an opening act, but the Aussies in Cut Copy were clearly the night's real victors, wringing out more energy from the Black Cat than many veteran acts can muster. Part of the credit here is due to the Melbourne band's skillfully sequenced setlist, which seems to have been engineered to induce dancing in even the most reticent of individuals. Coming out swinging, the band kicked their set off with "Out There On The Ice", a wintry, New Order-esque electro-pop anthem that had the crowd moving from the opening notes. "So Haunted", meanwhile, was surprisingly visceral live, opening up with a two guitar squall of Sonic Youth-like noise. A chorus full of shimmering synths eventually emerged from the static, at which point the band set down their guitars and picked up samplers, finally surrendering the infectious dance beat that we had all been holding out for.

By the time the band worked their way to up to "Lights and Music", the lead single from their newly released In Ghost Colours LP, the tension in the room was palpable. When they hit the chorus, the crowd detonated, jumping up and down with enough force to make the Black Cat's floor bounce in time with the beat. Halfway through the song, one of the onstage power strips died, causing lead vocalist Dan Whitford's synth to shut down. Luckily, no one in the club seemed to notice--we were all far too busy dancing and singing along. "Sorry it took us so long to get here, D.C.," guitarist Tim Hoey said after the song, looking a little surprised. "We promise it won't take so long next time." Evidently he hadn't realized that when we're not busy working for the man, we don't mind showing a few out-of-towners how to let loose on a Thursday night. And from what we've seen of the after party across the street at Redeem, the fun didn't stop when the set ended.