(Review by DCist guest contributor Jake Wolman)

Handsome Boy Modeling
School is the brainchild of Dan “the Automator” Nakamura and Prince
Paul, the two producers of both Handsome Boy albums (So…
How’s Your Girl and White
People). Similar to other Dan the Automator projects (Gorillaz, Lovage,
Deltron 3030), HBMS
is a musical concept that brings together the disparate talents of artists
from wildly divergent musical backgrounds. While this can make for a vibrant
and unusual-sounding album, it also makes the logistics of touring a bit
more tricky. With one or more guest stars on just about every song on each
album, there’s just no way for HBMS to travel and perform with every
contributor.

We had been warned by well-meaning friends about this show. They had said
that Handsome Boy Modeling School’s shows were filled with unfunny skits,
and that most of the guest stars didn’t show up — basically, we had been told
that the show would be a big bummer. Still, we had bought our tickets, so
after watching what may have been the last ever episode of Arrested
Development (Save our Bluths!),
we headed off to the 9:30 Club.