Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Car Pushed Into Anacostia River By Train
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Devendra Banhart @ 9:30 Club
Obamas At Smith Center For G.W. Basketball Game
Thursday was a big night for indie rock, as Illinois were at DC9 while Peelander-Z played at The Red and the Black, which might explain the small turnout at the Black Cat for The Dears, Great Northern, and Eulogies. It was a shame, as all three bands put on good sets.
Openers Eulogies quickly showed why guitar rock is still awesome -- the Los Angeles foursome plays catchy, well-put together tunes with no edifice or pretension. Unfortunately, the crowd was pretty small when they went on at about 8:30 -- only a handful of people with almost more photographers than spectators. Songs from their new album Here, Anonymous like "Eyes on the Prize," "Bad Connection," and "This Fine Progression" sounded great live and they got a pretty hearty response from the crowd. Hopefully next time they're in town, the Los Angelenos will have a bigger audience to play for -- we'll be looking forward to it.
Great Northern's set was better attended, probably due in part to their songs being on Grey's Anatomy, Bones, and elsewhere. The band has two singers, Rachel Stolte and Solon Bixler, who used to be in 30 Seconds to Mars, Jared Leto's band. Stolte has more stage presence and at times was reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde. The five-piece band plays sometimes quiet, sometimes more epic indie music, with big keyboard flourishes, dramatic vocals, and choppy tension from the guitars and drums. At first, the set seemed more style than substance, but as the songs went on and got bigger, they got better. The last few songs were borderline amazing, but not quite. The Los Angelenos are touring behind their new album Remind Me Where the Light Is.
The crowd seemed to thin a little for headliners The Dears, which seemed to fit -- the band came out of the Montreal scene right when it was getting big, but they never seemed to get much attention despite releasing some very well-reviewed CDs and putting on great live shows. The set began with some trickery -- the space was almost pitch black and it seemed like the between-set music was still going on, until audience members gradually realized that frontman Murray Lightburn was among them, singing. The crowd spread around him as he sang a slow song while band members came on stage one by one.
The band's music can probably best be described as "serious": Lightburn sounds like Morissey, the music is dramatic and sad and you can tell that he means what he's singing. The lyrics are often gloomy, like on new album Missiles' single "Money Babies" or No Cities Left's "Lost in the Plot" (sample lyric: "I promise not to cry anymore.") The 7-person band's lineup has changed a lot recently, with only married couple Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak remaining. The BBC attributed the changes to "Years on the road and an excessive lifestyle," but you're left to wonder if Lightburn's personality might have something to do with the changes -- he's a great frontman, but the seriousness and intensity from the music might not fit life on the road. A couple of the band members looked annoyed on stage at times as well. Or it could just be bad luck -- their tour bus was stolen on April 29 in Montreal.
But speculation aside, the set was solid. Lightburn paraded around stage, more insisting than encouraging the crowd to clap and sing along, and the band boomed out their big sound. The older songs fit the new ones well, though "Money Babies" didn't quite match the album version. The crowd appreciated the older songs from No Cities Left and Gang of Losers, and the set lasted a pretty long time, with no flagging energy or volume. All three bands are worth seeing, even if they don't seem to get the credit they deserve.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Post a comment (Comment Policy)