Indie rock sledgehammers … And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead invaded D.C. last night and played a spectacular show to a small but rabid audience at the 9:30 Club. The band was showing off their new, revamped lineup which features a new bassist (whom singer/guitaist Conrad Keely referred to only as “tall fuck”) as well as an additional drummer named Donnie. Having an extra percussionist lent even more bombast to the bands tunes and provided plenty of rhythm for Keely and guitarist Kevin Allen to work their intricate guitar melodies over. Allen was fond of literally sticking his guitar into his amp to get the sound he needed while Keely was content to stay in the middle of the stage and groove back and forth with his eyes shut.

The band ran through a multitude of their hits, including DCist faves “Mistakes & Regrets” and “How Near, How Far,” but the best tune of the night was a revamped version of “A Perfect Teenhood” that saw a slower intro and a hushed middle break before the song ramped back up to full volume. The audience also got a primer for their upcoming record, titled Worlds Apart and due out on Interscope Records next year, as the band played a few new tracks, including “Summer of 91” which featured Keely on keyboard.

The band figures to come back through town once the new record is released and you can be sure DCist will be there front and center.

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