Morning Roundup: Goodbye, Abe Edition
D.C. Police Seek Suspect in Series of Bank Robberies
Suspect in 9-Year-Old's Murder Found Dead in D.C. Jail
Photo of the Day: November 25, 2009
Ballou HS Rocks the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
There is this misconception among the world of rock 'n' roll that being self-referential in songs is patently uncool. Oh sure, back in the 1950s and '60s, ironically asking "Who are you?" or proudly proclaiming "Hey, Hey, We're the Monkees!" was perfectly acceptable, but barring an occasional song like "The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich!", being self-referential is usually relegated to the world of hip-hop (good and bad) or narcissistic hoo-hahs like Kid Rock. But British rock outfit Fujiya & Miyagi aren't afraid to let you know who they are, whether they're repeatedly saying their own name during "Ankle Injuries" or plastering it on the projection screen behind them, and they manage to come across as cool doing it.
Fujiya & Miyagi specialize in a brand of dance music that stays a little reserved. The melodies are simple and bass-driven. While the keyboard melodies occasionally take hints from electronic dance masters Daft Punk, they have as much in common with the moody electronic sounds of Air, and hardly inspire all out chaos so much as toe tapping and head bobbing. All three members of the act who contribute to the vocals sing in a hushed monotone that perfectly complements their beats. As they pant, roll their Rs and repeatedly utter words like "sticky" (as in songs like "Photocopier"), it's clear that this method of singing adds a sex appeal only Brits can deliver.
If the music got repetitive (which it did around the 40-minute mark before they broke out their hit, "Collarbone"), the projections behind the band were interesting enough to keep everyone at the 9:30 Club entertained. The onscreen visuals were comprised entirely of dice, which showed everything from workout videos to outlines of the band members' faces, and of course the words "Fuijya" and "Miyagi" spinning over a colorful background. A Pac-Man game gave rise to a snort of approval from all the concertgoers who used to rot their brains on that game in video arcades.
The entire night wasn't completely restrained. When Fujiya & Miyagi came back with "Pickpocket" as their encore, guitarist David Best went into his best discordant feedback-inducing guitar shredding. Even the 9:30 Club bartenders started busting a move. Over that wilder background, the gentlemen once again started repeating "Fujiya. Miyagi. Fujiya. Miyagi," as if to sign off until their next appearance, when ideally, nobody in that room need be given a reminder of who and what they'd seen.
Opener School of Seven Bells could probably headline the 9:30 Club outright if they continue to impress audiences like they did on Thursday night. The Deheza sisters contribute ethereal harmonies that are utterly hypnotic over their sampled beats and Blonde Redhead-esque guitar. While School of Seven Bells provide the sorts of songs that are usually best listened to at high volume on headphones and alone in one's bedroom, they showed that their sound can fill a 1100 capacity room just as easily.
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repetitive—that's a good word to describe f&m's music. every time they come on the radio, i always think thesongs sound exactly the same. not that it's terrible music, but they could use a little variety, methinks.
I love F&M, like, a lot but they are just not that great live. They're sound just lends itself more to private playing in your headphones or car than in public at a club.
That being said, I enjoyed to show well enough except some jackass standing near me kept shouting "WOOOO! Dominoes!" when clearly all the visuals were done with dice, uhg. Also, this same genius was try to tell his girlfriend that F&M were ripping off the sound of Franz Ferdinand and Modest Mouse and that they would be a decent band if they would just sing more clearly. Right.
A Potomac Yards Metro station is essential. The new buildings going up in the area will eventually add up to 30,000 new residents, all of whom will be clogging up Rt. 1 even further if a Metro stop isn't added.
While I understand funding is always an issue, delaying this project will likely only increase the costs. Also, the Yellow line will soon end up like the Orange Line...where you can't fit into a car if you get on more than three stops into the line.
Another concern is that the Potomac Yards Shopping Center parking lot will turn into a commuter lot. There will likely have to be some sort of gated lot, perhaps with free validation if you show a receipt from a store.
What I don't understand, is that I thought they originally had a site marked out for a station? Can't they just use that land? This project should be "shovel ready" (to use the parlance of the times). This day was inevitable, and this just seems like Metro was once again caught with their pants down.
i hear you timmytucker, but why this comment on the concert review thread?
Mostly because I don't notice what article I'm reading when I click "comment." This was supposed to be off of today's Morning Roundup, in response to one of the Briefly Noted links. My bad.
FYI, the duo are not Japanese as their name might suggest, nor have they ever even traveled to Japan.