Hazel
The Equalizer
Double Shadow
Work
Parallel Lines
Bits and Pieces
Count Souvenirs
Birthday
The Animator
In the Morning
=====
Under the Sun
When the doors opened at 8:30 (the show's scheduled starting time, I'll add), there were only about a dozen people in line, and we all commented to ourselves how sad that was. But the show didn't start for another 45 minutes, during which at least 150 more came. We were all packed into the basement of the building (which, down there, you'd never know was a church), where the tight space, yet still relatively small crowd, made for a more intimate concert setting.
Max Tundra opened the show. I'd never heard any of his material before, but his glitch/synth pop has been compared to Dan Deacon, which didn't exactly make me optimistic. (Pitchfork loves him, naturally.) Having seen him live, I still doubt I'd ever listen to his music casually, but it's hard to deny how much fun he was at the show. His music is messy and absolutely all over the place, and his performance complemented that, as he pranced and sprawled and waved his limbs around like a maniac. (This was made more amusing by his characteristics of being short, bald, and British.) By the end of his set, the audience (most of whom were there to see Junior Boys) were cheering wildly; they loved him. He was the perfect choice for the opening act because his job was to get the crowd riled up for the main event, and he did exactly that.
Junior Boys (whose recent album, Begone Dull Care, is one of my favorites of the year so far) mounted the stage to the tune of two of their best songs, Hazel and The Equalizer, the former being their current single. The sound was excellent and Jeremy Greenspan's vocals never faltered. The inclusion of a live drummer was an excellent choice, as it morphed the band's soft electropop into an hour-long rave, with most of their songs really coming to life on stage. Work and Parallel Lines, the already impressive six-and-a-half-minute opening tracks to their new album, became headbanger epics; Bits and Pieces was the best song of the night, a jump-up-and-down, throw-yourself-around four-minute riot of an act. Even Double Shadow, a track I've never been too fond of, really seemed to benefit from the live setting and was another highlight.
(Oddly enough, Birthday, their first single and probably their most famous track, was the one song that felt like a downgrade. The overemphasis on percussion seemed to clash with the song's cool tranquility, though I guess subtlety and discretion wasn't one of the show's themes. Guess it's a good thing they didn't play Dull to Pause.)
The Animator and Count Souvenirs stuck out as the only particularly weak picks of the night, as even the normally enthusiastic crowd seemed a little subdued while they were being played. Also, two songs I wanted to hear, Three Words and FM, were unfortunately absent -- the latter in particular is a shame because I've read reports of Junior Boys playing that song during this tour. But the show's outstanding finale made up for it: In the Morning set the audience on fire, and their encore was an extended version of Under the Sun, and by the end of it I don't think there was a single person in the crowd who wasn't dancing.
Great show, overall, and a very tiring one. I doubt many of you have even heard of these guys, so if you're into this sort of music, definitely check them out. (Their MySpace, where you can listen to some of their music, can be found here.) And if they happen to be stopping near you anytime soon, definitely consider going. It's cheap and totally worth it.
Note: Adding to his unique personality, Tundra closed the show by reading a scathing review of his work by a seemingly homophobic Philadelphia journalist, thanking us for picking him over Franz Ferdinand, and then playing a techno remix of So Long, Farewell from The Sound of Music. I like this guy.
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